


Heroes and Titans

by YungLink



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Genre: BAMF Link (Legend of Zelda), Canon-Typical Violence, Crossover, Gen, Hylians are enhanced humans, Jean Kirstein Being An Asshole, Link is suspicious of Mikasa's strength, Link joins the Survey Corps, Mentions of past LoZ characters, Post-Majora's Mask, Protective Mikasa Ackerman
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-23 09:21:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 38,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23009242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YungLink/pseuds/YungLink
Summary: After finally destroying the cursed Majora's Mask during the longest three days of his life, Link, the Hero of Time, sets out to return to Hyrule to see his beloved friends and family again. Fate had other things in mind for our hero. The fall of Wall Maria has the last remnants of humanity on the brink of extinction. When the Colossal Titan breaches Wall Rose, they lose hope. Characters and Relationships will be added as I go, as I'm not 100% sure on them. Originally posted on fanfiction.net.
Relationships: Link & Mikasa Ackerman, Mikasa Ackerman & Armin Arlert & Eren Yeager, Mikasa Ackerman & Eren Yeager
Comments: 8
Kudos: 20





	1. Prologue I: Dawn of the Fourth Day

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all, and welcome to my first fic ever, Heroes and Titans! I've been a long time Zelda fan, and recently watched all the way through Attack on Titan, and loved it! I was browsing through fanfics and i found some interesting stuff, one of the, being an AoT x LoZ crossover that I enjoyed. Sadly it's abandoned, or at least hasn't been updated in several years, but it inspired me to write my own story for the first time. I've wanted to before with other series, but haven't had the motivation. This will be fun! But before we get started, I have a few things to clarify:
> 
> This story takes place in the AoT universe, and Link is the one crossing over. I want to preserve original canon from both series as much as possible, but in the event that something is unexplained or doesn't make sense, I will try to cover by implementing my own theories or creative liberties so that things make more sense. A small example is Link's Hookshot. If you aren't familiar with the Legend of Zelda, it's a recurring item in the franchise. It's a retractable chain with a hook (or in some cases, a claw) that latches onto things and pulls the holder to the target, or if the target is lighter than the holder, then it to them. This type of contraption in real life would more or less rip your arm off from the force necessary for it to work properly. The creative liberty I took here, is that that I decided to make Hylians (the race that Link is) more resilient to physical pain/stress. They may be built a little sturdier, but they could die to sickness or blood loss just like normal humans would.
> 
> When it comes to text and dialogue, "quotations refer to regular dialogue", and italics refer to a character's thoughts. Usually I'll end a trail of thought with "X character thought" or something similar, unless the character's thoughts are suddenly interrupted. It shouldn't cause confusion. If a seemingly random word is italicized, then that word or phrase is emphasized.
> 
> Lastly, the timeline of this story when Act I starts is post Majora's Mask, and pre Battle for Trost, but the day of. Let's get to it!

* * *

**_PROLOGUE I: Dawn of the Fourth Day_ **

* * *

The first thing Link registered as he roused from his slumber was the sunlight. He opened his eyes to see the morning dew covering the window, drops of water slowly making their way down to the bottom. He sat on the edge of his bed to slowly wake up, and thought of the events of the last three days.

He noted the position of the sun. It appeared to be about 8 in the morning. He was still sore after his epic battle with Majora the previous night. Hell, it wasn't even 12 hours ago at this point. Luckily, he had the Fierce Deity's Mask to help him utterly destroy that cursed Mask once and for all.

The Fierce Deity's Mask was a strange, yet incredibly powerful mask. It granted the wearer the power of a literal god, enhancing one's strength to levels that were unattainable by a mere mortal. It was this mask that allowed Link to triumph in his battle against Majora after almost succumbing to his wounds beforehand. It was his last resort.

But with this godlike power, it takes a great toll on one's body and mind. The wearer will probably wind up sleeping for a full day after. Their body is locked in a stasis the whole time and is preserved as long as the mask is worn. The toll isn't extracted until after it's removed, though.

There isn't a time limit, either. The amount of time one can wear it depends solely on the person wearing it, and how strong they are in both body and spirit. If the wearer is strong enough, they might suffer moderate to heavy fatigue for a day. If they aren't, the mask will claim part their soul to make up for the energy cost, which will shave off part of their lifespan.

The most important part, however, is self control. With great power comes great responsibility. If one becomes drunk with this power, they will lose sight of their original goal in favor of abusing the power. If one has an iron will and a strong mind, they can resist temptation. A mere child would put up absolutely zero resistance.

Link has been through a lot though. He's endured more physical, mental, and emotional pain in one year than almost everyone experiences in their entire lifetime.

He's killed countless monsters.

He's failed to save people.

He lost the only parental figure in his life.

He lost his entire childhood in a cruel twist of fate, just to wake up afterward and find his home in ruins.

But he still pulled through and beat the odds.

He picked up his sword, and struck darkness right through it's heart and light prevailed.

All the blood, sweat, and tears that have been shed over the last year are combined to make the living legend that is the Hero of Time.

* * *

Shaking himself from his thoughts, he finally rose from his bed and got ready for the day. He threw on his now clean green tunic, courtesy of a grateful citizen of Clock Town, and made his way down stairs, where a complementary breakfast was waiting for him. The rest of the people staying at the Stock Pot Inn were still asleep, or hadn't returned from the evacuation from last night, so all of the tables were open. He chose to sit up at the counter when he noticed Anju coming back from the kitchen.

"Good morning, Link!" she said cheerfully, and then started walking back to the kitchen.

"Morning, Anju," he said as she walked away. "And thanks for the breakfast."

She returned with two plates, one big and one small, and a bottle of milk. She knew it was one of Link's favorite beverages. On the big plate was a helping of scrambled cucco eggs and some hash browns, and the small plate had two strips of bacon. Anju set them down in front of him.

"No problem! This is on the house, as well as your room rental for the last three days. It's the least I can do for everything you did for us here in Clock Town."

Link was a little surprised at the kind gesture, but then he remembered it was Anju. She was one of the nicer people here in Termina. He almost thought about paying anyway, since he had the rupees, but then he remembered all the people who came back and how many needed places to stay. Business definitely wouldn't be slow for at least a week.

He dug into his wallet and pulled out a red rupee. He slid it across the counter Anju was cleaning, and she caught it by reaction and fixed Link with a look of confusion. He smiled slightly.

"Consider this a tip for the kindness you showed me throughout my stay here. I've got more money than I know what to do with, anyway," Link said.

Anju looked a little flustered for a second. "O-oh. Well, thank you. I guess even with all this business, I still have to maintain the Inn, so maybe I can save up to treat myself sometime," she said shyly.

Link finished his breakfast, and sighed contentedly. Definitely better than some of the scraps or other things he had to eat while on the road. He sipped on his milk bottle while making small talk with Anju, savoring its freshness and cool temperature.

"So what do you plan on doing next?" Anju asked him curiously.

Link had mentioned he couldn't stay in Termina after he took care of Skull Kid and Majora, so she wondered where he could possibly go. Almost no one dared to venture beyond the border. The neighboring lands were already dangerous enough, with Snowhead's seemingly infinite mountains and tundra to the north, the poisonous swamp to the south, the Ikana Canyon and desert to the east, and the raging Great Bay Sea to the west.

Link thought for a moment. This would normally be an easy question, but things were always complicated with him. See, he wasn't exactly _from_ Termina. He didn't even know Termina existed until he got here. Link was from a distant land called Hyrule Kingdom. The thing was, though, was that he wasn't even sure that Termina was even _real_.

Sure, it _felt_ real, but some things just didn't add up. Everyone in Termina was someone that already existed in Hyrule. He even remembered at the beginning of his journey around Hyrule, he helped that Anju recover her lost cuccos because she was allergic to them and couldn't touch them. When he ran into her completely by chance here in Termina, she didn't recognize him at all, and she thought he was insane because she had never owned cuccos in her life.

"I'm not completely sure," he said, slightly uncertainly. "I think I want to travel around this land and explore more before I return home. See new things, meet new people. As cozy as Clock Town is, it's just too small for someone like me. I need to get out there and see the world, you know?" He gauged her reaction.

"But you can't leave!" She cried out. "It's too dangerous out there! Even more so, the lands out there are uncharted and unknown, so who knows what dangers await unfortunate travelers out there!" She said quickly.

"That's what makes the experience worth it, in my opinion," he said distantly. If there's one good thing to come out of his cursed journey through time, it was the valuable experience and thrill of adventure he came to know and love.

"And how cool would it be to discover something new, never before seen by anyone? To be the first person to draw a map of an area? To find hidden treasures and other cool stuff? To be the first person to sit and eat lunch under that 100 meter tall tree? Who knows? There could even be other civilizations or settlements out there that have never seen people! Don't even get me started on the landscapes! Sure, I've seen plenty of mountains, my fair share of oceans, and crossed vast deserts, but I know there's more!" Link was getting pretty passionate, even though this speech was partly a lie. He didn't really want to explore that much, he just needed a reason to leave and return to his home.

Anju was listening, almost stunned at his sudden change in tone. He didn't usually show this much emotion. In fact, Link has always been rather reserved since he got here. It was strange, but nice, to see the usually stoic "Hero of Termina", as they called him, act so comfortable. Maybe he was under stress from the threat of the Moon, and just didn't have time for emotion.

She also pondered his words. He really did want to leave, to go and explore the world. He was the adventuring type, after all. And his combat and survival skills were certainly unmatched. "Well, who am I to try and stop you? You've proven yourself capable of surviving, and you really have nothing anchoring you to this place, anyway." Anju said.

Link smiled again. "I'm glad you understand, Anju."

"Of course."

Link stood up after finishing his milk, handed it to Anju who set it aside to clean later, and he made his way back to his room.

He walked up the stairs, glad that conversation went as well as it did. The last thing Link wanted was for yet _another_ adult to try and hold him back. This happened all the time in Hyrule, and even in Termina, but less often. The people here seemed to either care less,minding their own business, or actually recognized his strength.

Opening the door to his room, he took a look around. He didn't have much outside of his equipment to bring along, and most of it he could attack to his belt. Other miscellaneous supplies would go into the packs on his trusty horse, Epona.

Speaking of Epona, Link hasn't gotten to spend much time with her as of late. He loved his dear horse, but she couldn't handle the terrain that he had to travel. Mountains, sand, snow, and water. Not good for a horse. She still got excited when he did come by the Romani Ranch occasionally to rider her and stretch her legs, and run aorund in the open fields of Termina. Sometimes he'd spend an hour doing laps around Clock Town if he had time to kill.

Over the course of about 20 minutes, Link had gathered his Gilded Sword, a finely crafted masterpiece of a sword he treasured very dearly, his hefty metal "Hero's Shield", as Princess Zelda had dubbed it, his bow and quiver full of arrows, Fire, Ice, and Bomb included. He also grabbed his Hookshot, a golden colored contraption that sprung a chain to latch onto objects and pull himself to them, or them to him.

He packed his saddlebags with spare food, and other necessities, including his enchanted bottles. These bottles would keep anything stored in them preserved and from spoiling. They also maintained temperature, too. He made sure to stock up on potions, and saved one for a serving of Chateau Romani, the Milk Bar's specialty drink. Chateau Romani is alcoholic beverage mixed with the famous milk from the Romani Ranch. It's quite popular.

While kids under 17 weren't legally allowed to drink alcohol, or even be allowed into the Milk Bar without a guardian, Link was able to gain access by helping the owner of the bar out with something. At first, he wasn't allowed to drink, but he explained that he wasn't a normal human like them. Link is a Hylian, a race of people _almost_ identical to humans. Think of them as just enhanced humans. Stronger, faster, better reflexes, longer lifespans, and as if they couldn't get any better, more efficient organs. This meant his liver could filter out alcohol like it was nothing, unless he drank practically an entire barrel of the stuff. Link was able to best all of the towns strongest drinkers in drinking contests easily because of this fact. The best part? When the last man dropped to the floor, he was only slightly tingly.

Last but certainly not least, he grabbed his Fierce Deity's Mask off the wall he mounted it on.

* * *

With all of his stuff packed, and a final goodbye to Anju, Link made his way out of the Stock Pot Inn. He looked up at the sun to check the time. It was probably about 10, and he decided if he wanted to cover any kind of ground before dark, he had to leave at least before noon. Untying his horse and leading her away from the newly built stable near the Inn for travelers, he made his way back to the Clock Tower and took a long looks at it.

 _This damn Clock Tower is where everything began,_ Link thought bitterly, almost getting a little angry. His anger dissipated as fast as it came.

Sighing, he opened the huge double doors, and walked through.

It was just as eerie as he remembered. The creepy silence, only the sound of dripping water that had Hylia knows what in it, and the damp, mossy stone. The Happy Mask Salesman left Termina as soon as Link destroyed Majora's Mask, a little upset since it was his most prized possession, but happy either way because it could no longer fall into the wrong hands.

Link and Epona made it down the wooden incline, and started down that dark tunnel he came through three days ago. He still couldn't believe all this too only 72 hours. Technically it wasn't, since he used time travel with his-

Link very abruptly felt around his belt for that pouch. That case he had clipped to his waist the held his absolute favorite possession. He held his breath.

The Ocarina of Time.

He let out the breath when he felt it, exactly where he left it. He reached into the soft pouch and carefully pulled it out and gazed at is deep blue beauty. The ceramic felt smooth, and cool since he hadn't used it all day.

Epona seemed to realize he seemed distracted, and nudged him to keep going. She wanted to get out of here as soon as possible so she could run as fast as she wanted, with no fences or gates to stop her. She was a free horse.

When he felt Epona's nose on his elbow, he snapped back to reality and started walking again. After a few more minutes, they emerged from the tunnel into a forest clearing. He recognized the tree stump he passed while chasing the Skull Kid who stole his horse. They continued along the path, turning the corner into another tunnel.

Before they could even set foot in the tunnel, the light at the other end of it slowly darkened. Epona started to get nervous and slowed her pace. Link fed her an apple to try and calm her.

Link pulled out and lit a lantern, and hung it out in front of him. Epona was getting more anxious as they continued. _She's always been afraid of closed spaces and dark areas, but we just passed through that other tunnel without a problem. What's different this time?_

He rested a hand on Epona in an effort to soothe her, and that usually worked. She kept getting more nervous. Link heard a branch break, and he gasped as he turned around, holding the lantern out in front of him. Nothing. Epona let out another low groan.

 _Weird. Why am I starting to get nervous now? It takes a lot more than some darkness and creepy ambiance to scare me._ Eventually, Epona stopped walking forward altogether, and starting making very distressed sounds.

"Whoa, Epona! What's the matter, girl? Do you hear something?" Link asked with worry evident in his voice. He then heard the telltale sounds of magic being cast. It sounded kind of different to him though. More like something being charged. He immediately drew his sword and shield, his guard up. The sound was above him now. He looked up and saw flashes of every color, headed straight for him and Epona.

"Epona! Run away!" Link yelled desperately. She did so, but just around the corner. She was still concerned for him. Then, suddenly, she came racing back and reared up on her hind legs trying to fight off something that Link himself couldn't see. Epona wound up getting caught in the magic effects too, and they both started to float. She was letting out very distressed and desperate cries now, but couldn't do anything.

"Ugh! I can't move!" He struggled as hard as he could, but whatever this magic was, it was too strong. He may have been slightly experienced in the magic field, but against a powerful sorcerer, he was nothing. As they rose higher, Link was starting to make out where the magic was coming from.

"It's some kind of portal! Really hope someone through there can help us," he said, worried. "because it looks like we're going there."

The reached the portal. Link could almost make out an image, it almost looked like a wall of some kind. He wasn't too sure though.

He tried to reach for his Ocarina as a last ditch effort, and he grabbed it. He couldn't play anything though, since he couldn't move at all.

As soon as they reached the portal, Link felt a burning sensation throughout his body. It wasn't painful, just mildly uncomfortable. Epona was still squealing.

Once he passed through it, he fell to the stone ground hard, and landed on his stomach. Dazed, He tried to look around, but everything was blurry. He saw people in the distance, but couldn't make out any faces. He saw someone with a messy black bob run up to him before he lay back down. As the person, who he assumed was a girl, leaned over him asking if he was okay, he looks into his hand he could suddenly move again, and he saw the Ocarina of Time, with a crack on the side.

He blacked out.

* * *


	2. PROLOGUE II: Graduation Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, and welcome back to Heroes and Titans! I see I already have a few followers and a favorite! It may not seem special to some of you, but since this is my first go at all of this, I'm glad I have seem to have already caught someone's eye, so welcome aboard people! I hope I keep your attention and that you enjoy the story. Before this chapter begins, I'd like to mention something about the AoT side of this story. I am basing everything you read here off of the ANIME ONLY. I have not read the manga at all, though I plan on it in the near future. So if you do review or have criticism, please don't be all like "mAnGa tHiS, MaNgA ThAt" because I'll have no idea what you're talking about. I'm sure they're very similar in most ways, but until I read it I have no idea. On top of that, most of the dialogue will be from the English dub, at least until things get... different. Anyway, enjoy this long chapter!

* * *

_**PROLOGUE II: Graduation Night** _

* * *

_Year 850_

_104th Cadet Corps - 2 Years After Enlistment_

"Pick up the pace, you lead-heeled laggards!" A commanding voice yelled. The sound of heavy rainfall accompanied pounding footsteps as a group of trainees ran through a forest.

The Commandant, Keith Shadis, turned his head to look behind him from on his horse. He shouted back a blond-haired trainee, who was falling behind.

"What's wrong, Arlelt?" He slowed his mount down a little and was beside the soldier in question, who was obviously winded.

"Your boots waterlogged, Arlelt? Let's see some hustle! Gear too heavy for ya son? Hell, drop it! Leave it in the mud! The Titans'll have and easier work digesting you without all the excess baggage."

The poor kid was _exhausted_. Physical training was never his thing. He was more of the studious type, who would spend every waking moment with his nose in a book. When he wasn't getting an earful from his Commandant, of course. In the military here, education was also important. But the physical aspect was still very demanding.

"Damn it!" The blond whispered to himself as he was practically gasping for air as he ran.

"Seriously?" Another trainee on his right said, yanking his pack off of him. He also had blond hair, but it was much shorter. "Focus on staying upright. We are being graded on this you know." The other trainee sounded tired too, but he hid it well.

"Thanks, but, uh, won't they demerit you for helping?" The winded cadet said.

"Yeah, if they find out. Just make the cut and we're even, alright?"

Shadis glanced behind him, studying the two cadets. _Reiner Braun. The mind and constitution of a grass fed ox. Respected by his comrades._ He was a well built, almost adult looking teen. His facial features are sharper than most people, even those older than him. He was taller and had tanned skin.

The tired cadet pushed forward, determined, and despite his overwhelming exhaustion. "I'm no one's burden, you hear me?" He picked up his pace, and snatched his pack back from Reiner, who was startled by the sudden action. He broke into a sprint, passing by a few other trainees.

The cadet who was falling behind is _Armin Arlelt. Built like a daffodil, but academically brilliant._ He was still physically fit from the years of training, but one of the smallest of his comrades, including the girls.

* * *

Several young cadets zipped through the forest on Omni-Directional Mobility Gear, steel cables flying and piercing branches literally left and right, fired via the triggers on their dual sword handles. A giant wooden cutout of a humanoid creature rose from the ground in preparation of the approaching cadets. The first three of them came down fast, bringing their sharp steel blades down onto a soft spot on the nape of the neck. They each made quick and precise slashes, in pointed oval shape that cut out a chunk in one slash. The third person to strike didn't make as deep a cut as the first two.

The first was _Annie Leonhart. Gifted with a sword, but does not exactly play well with others._ She has moderately short, light blonde hair, tied up at the back with her right fringe draping over the right side of her face. She may appear short, but makes up for it with a passively intimidating gaze.

Next was _Bertholdt Hoover. Heaps of native talent, but too mild mannered._ He was arguably the tallest of his comrades, but didn't look as threatening. He has short black hair.

Third was _Jean Kirschstein. Head of the class on ODM. Also an insufferable smart-ass, with a hair-trigger temper._ Relatively average looking, in height and muscular build. He has short, light ash-brown hair with the sides shaved, making them appear darker. He has small but intense light brown eyes, and his expression is often scowled.

Shadis watched them from a think tree branch as he made his evaluations. Jean leaped off of a branch to make his strike.

Jean grew frustrated after his slice. "Think those showoffs can slice and dice? Best hope you see a Titan before I do!" He continued to maneuver through the trees, swiftly and expertly. _Military Police, save a place for Jean!_

He chuckled as he saw the next dummy, already prepared to strike the nape.

"Way to lead the charge!" someone shouted from behind. Jean gasped as a trainee with a buzz cut flew from the trees. He laughed before saying, "You don't care if I steal your thunder, right?" he said as he leaped in front of Jean and struck the target before he could.

Or at least he was about to.

As the other trainee brought his swords up, someone else beat him to the punch. He gaped.

"Yaaahoooooooo!" A brunette girl with a ponytail cheered, as she gracefully fell and dipped down, then back up using her momentum to gain height. She whooped in excitement as she flew up.

_Sasha Braus. Unusually fine instincts. Rarely shares 'em with her teammates._

_Connie Springer. Agile on the switchbacks. A few sandwiches shy of a picnic._

"Get ready!" a soldier said to another as he spotted trainees headed for their location. The other soldier began hoisting up the next dummy for them to take out.

Two cadets came flying in toward two dummies, one boy, and one girl. The boy has very tanned skin, messy black hair, and a sharp look plastered on his face as if he were always angry. The girl was rather pale compared to her comrades, had similarly messy hair, but in a straight bob cut style. Her facial features were soft, yet cold at the same time, as if she was calculating her next move. She also donned a dark red scarf around her neck.

She readied her swords as she neared the targets and made two very precise, clean cuts across both targets in the span of a second. The boy followed her, and struck the targets true like she did, but not nearly as deep as she did. He grunted in frustration.

"Dammit! Still not deep enough!"

_Mikasa Ackerman. Model cadet. Excels in everything. In fact, it's no overstatement to call the girl a genius._

_Eren Yeager. Lackluster in the classroom, marginally better in the field, but..._ Shadis studied him more closely. _Driven by a sense of purpose that's almost terrifying._

Eren growled loudly as he flew further into the forest in search of his next target.

* * *

Reiner charged at Eren with a fake knife and a war cry. The latter easily side-stepped and countered his assault, grabbing his wrist and putting a hand to his adversary's chest, effectively stopping him in his tracks. Eren then grabbed Reiner's jacket and used his own force against him as he flipped him to the ground.

Reiner groaned in pain as Eren extended a hand out to him.

"Sorry man," said Eren, "I've really gotta learn to hold back." Reiner took his hand and was pulled up.

"Eh, it's alright. Let's see how you do as the rogue." He held out the knife to his comrade.

Eren just stared at him, his expression unchanging.

"What are you waiting on?" Reiner inquired.

"This training doesn't make sense," Eren said while taking the knife from him. "we're not exactly picking fights with someone our own size. A guy would have to be stupid to use this. I mean, a knife?" An image of his younger self appeared in his mind, holding a knife. He exhaled as the memory left him.

"What if there's not an option? Reiner replied. Eren looked up at him. "The fight doesn't give us a say. If it wants to get ugly, it gets ugly. It's our job to be prepared. The enemy comes in many forms." A girl grabbed another cadet by the neck as she held his hand with the knife away from him. "Artillery's not always gonna be the answer. Soldiers, the ones worth their salt, anyway," Eren continued to stare at him, a surprised look on his face. "are ready for anything." Reiner finished.

"Don't believe me? Look." Annie walked leisurely around the training yard.

"Yeah?" asked Eren. "What about her?" She stopped to glance at them. "Only thing she's ready for is a chance to slack off."

Reiner grinned smugly. "Ya think so? Maybe someone ought to give her a talkin' to. Give her a little... hard knocks lesson in preparedness."

"Huh?" Eren asked again.

Annie walked up to them, glancing behind her. She stopped when she turned around right into Reiner's chest.

"Hm?" Annie said.

Reiner was still grinning. "Commandant not beatin' ya down enough? Keep it up, you'll be as flat as the dirt you're walking on. I suggest you think back to why you enlisted in the first place."

Eren came up to them. "Uh, what are you doing?" Annie glared at Reiner. _Whoa, she's pissed. Wow, I thought she looked scary before. You couldn't pay me enough to be on her bad side._ Reiner grabbed his shoulders and moved him toward her.

"Okay, now go get 'er!" He encouraged.

"What the hell? Wait!" Annie took a strange stance. Her hands were in front of her face, leaving her torso completely vulnerable. Her right leg was behind her with her knee, bent slightly, and her heel was up. "Right. I hope you don't expect me to hold back." Eren charged at her with the knife. "Heads up!"

Annie dodged easily and countered by kicked his shin. Eren grunted in pain as he fell forward to his knees. "Son of a... that was a dirty move! Ah..." He fell back down as his leg pulsed in pain.

"Are we done here?" Annie sounded bored.

"Not just yet," Reiner said, face now serious. "You know the drill. Take up the dagger."

Annie sighed at this.

Eren was mildly afraid. "No, wait! This isn't how..." Annie came at him this time. "Oh crap!" She grabbed him by the chin, her fingers in his mouth. She swept his legs out from under him, using his head as leverage, and flipped him to the ground. Before he could even let out a noise, Annie had disarmed him and threw the knife to Reiner.

"There." she said, still bored. She brushed her hair out of her face. "So, you ready to take me on yourself yet, or what?" she dared him.

Reiner gritted his teeth. "Uh, not exactly."

"Don't you dare." Eren said from the ground. "She's got a lesson coming, right? You go get her."

Reiner stared back up at Annie. "Yeah. A soldier can't really afford to back down, either." He steeled himself. "Get ready, here I c-"

He was already on the ground, Annie walking away.

"That's some technique you've got. Who taught you how to fight like that?" Eren asked.

She brushed her hair out of her face again. "My father did."

"Did he like pioneer it, or-"

"Does it really matter?" Annie interrupted. "It's pointless, just like all this."

"Wait, you mean the training in general?"

"Hand-to-hand doesn't really count against our final grade. The smart ones blow it off." She looked over at two cadets who were fake fighting. "It's a crap-shoot anyway. Only the top ten cadets get to serve in the interior. The rest of us, forget it. Point is, only idiots like you take this part of boot camp seriously." Sasha made a silly karate pose, and Connie made a terrible fake stance, holding the knife in his mouth. Shadis walked up to them.

They noticed him, surprised. "Oh, hello, shir," Connie's voice was muffled from the knife as Shadis grabbed him by the side of the head an lifted him up. Sasha put up her hands in surrender.

Annie grabbed the knife and started forcing it toward Eren's chest, but he stopped her. She spoke up. "First rule of this life, kid? The better you are at dropping the bad guys, the further away from them you get. That's what this whole stupid farce is about."

They stared each other down. "Sure! Whatever you say!" said Eren as he went to disarm her. Annie reacted accordingly, once again sweeping his legs from under him. She dropped him to the ground and pointed the knife down at his chest. Eren gasped, struggling to keep her from going further.

"Face it," Annie said. "you don't fight the nature of things and win." Eren was wide-eyed as he took in her words. She relented, standing up. "Look around you, Eren. All the sons of bitches expect us to do is play the game. Don't be a pawn." She walked away.

Reiner spoke up. "Yeah, well I still stand by what I said earlier."

Eren thought about what Annie said. _I've been so fixated on building myself up, I couldn't see it. She's absolutely right. They're not honing their skills to fight. They're honing their skill to_ ** _run._**

* * *

"I know, okay? And look, I'm not saying it's right, it's just the way things are. Before Wall Maria was compromised, ODM experts were rare. Only Scouts ever risked proximity to the Titans, and their regiment-" Eren tuned Armin out, listening to another conversation.

"-for a second. That's how you conserve fuel. Let your momentum do the work for you." Jean said to the cadets at his table.

Marco was listening with interest. "Still, that's pretty advanced." he said.

"Duh," Jean replied. "it's called having a sixth sense for the finer points of your gear." He rested his head on his hand, elbow on the table. He glanced over at Mikasa, who was silently eating her food, then back at his table. "You gotta do the strut if you wanna make the cut!" he declared. "The MP only recruit the best." Another cadet looked up and sighed.

"Man, that'd be amazing! Working within a stones throw of the King... no greater honor than that."

"Shut up, Marco." Jean said as he smacked him on the back of the head, making him spill his drink on himself. Jean had a smug look. "We're not children, you can drop the misty-eyed BS. Honor doesn't have any damn part of it. You just want a nice, cushy job on the interior, playing glorified sentry."

"That's not true! That's not me at all!"

Eren decided to intervene. "Listen to you guys," Jean and Marco looked at him. "Interior... five years ago, this was part of it."

"You got a point to make, friend? I'm right here." Jean said forcefully.

Eren took a long swig of his drink, eyes closed. He swallowed slowly.

"Poor Jean. So misguided. And besides..." he opened his eyes. "I don't think your head'll fit in the interior, anyway." Jean's eye twitched.

Reiner, Connie, and a bunch of others started giggling.

Jean looked back at Eren. "Very funny."

Eren had a scowl on his face. "Seems a little backwards to me. Fine tuning your Titan killing skills so the brass'll station you somewhere you'll never see one."

"You'd rather I was good at getting killed? Thank you, but I'll pass. Better to play the system than get gnawed on." Eren growled at him and stood up suddenly.

"You son of a bitch!" he yelled.

"Bring it on, you little bastard!" Jean shouted back as he stood up as well. They approached each other.

Armin stood up too, trying to stop them. "Eren, please! Stop it!" Mikasa stood up and made her way to them.

"Gentlemen, please." She separated them and grabbed Eren's wrist, putting it down gently. She looked at Eren calmly. He was glaring at her now. After a second, he glanced down and away from her, a little ashamed. Jean grabbed his collar suddenly.

"You think you can judge me?!"

"Huh?!" Eren said, confused. "You rip my shirt, and you're dead!"

"I don't give a damn about your shirt, you pissed me off!"

"What?! Are you crazy?!" Time seemed to freeze as he looked around the room. Almost everyone in the mess hall was staring at them. Most people weren't making it obvious, and some were. He focused on Annie in particular.

 _Oh, wait. **I**_ _did it. He has something to prove._ He thought of other times he snapped. _Sounds familiar... Sorry to do this._ He grabbed Jean's wrist on his collar, pushed it away, and swept his legs out from under him. _It's only to end this before things get out of hand!_

Annie noticed what he did, and gasped. Eren had used her technique to flip Jean, who was a little larger than him, to the ground.

"Ack!" Jean hit the ground hard on his back. Everyone else in the mess hall was gaping at Eren, who turned around to look at his now grounded opponent.

Jean grunted as he sat up, rubbing the back of his head. "Dammit!" he winced. "What the hell was that move?!"

"Little something I picked up this afternoon. While you were busy with your thumb up your ass." They stared at each other in intense silence for a second. "You honestly think the Military Police is your ticket to the good life? You're not a soldier. You're a joke." Eren finished.

Most of the cadets were stunned, while Mikasa watched passively. The wooden door creaked open, and everyone was startled at the sudden break in silence.

When the door revealed Shadis, he had a dark glare leveled at the occupants of the mess hall.

"Would someone care to explain the little ruckus I heard just now? I do hope everything's alright."

Eren and Jean sat back down at their tables, both fuming internally. Mikasa raised her hand.

"Sasha passed some gas, Commandant." Sasha gasped, extremely embarrassed. People started giggling.

"Why am I not surprised..." said the Commandant. Sasha was still at a loss for words. The other cadets were struggling to contain their laughter. "For the love of god, learn some self-control." He closed the door.

Sasha was tugging on Mikasa's hand asking what she did to deserve that. Eventually, she picked up a piece of bread, and shoved it into Sasha's mouth to silence her.

* * *

_The Graduation Ceremony_

Of the original recruits, 218 graduated. They all stood lined up, and in formation in a courtyard. The only light came from brightly burning torches on the outside of the block.

"Do you have heart?" a voice shouted, projecting his voice so everyone could hear him.

"Sir!" all of the cadets said, and saluted in perfect, practiced unison. The salute had them bend their right arm at the elbow, fist over their heart, and left arm behind their back. It was simple, yet the symbolism was clear.

"As of this moment, you have three options open to you! Choose wisely!"

He continued. "The Garrison Regiment, whose job is to reinforce the walls! The Survey Corps, also known as the Scout Regiment, who ride out into Titan country to take back what was once ours! And the Military Police Regiment, maintaining law and order under orders from his royal Majesty!"

"Those cadets eligible for the MP have already been named! The rest of you, take a look! These are the top of your class!"

The top 10 stood at the front of the block, in order of their rank. Mikasa Ackerman, Reiner Braun, Bertholdt Hoover, Annie Leonhart, Eren Yeager, Jean Kirschstein, Marco Bodt, Connie Springer, Sasha Braus, and Krista Lenz. These were the only cadets eligible for the Military Police. The rest could only choose between the Garrison, or the Scouts.

 _This is it. We've made it._ Eren thought, his flame of vengeance reigniting. _Our time is now._ _Titans, be ready._

* * *

After the graduation ceremony, they went to the mess hall to celebrate. Drinks clattered as people chatted and ate their fill.

"Alright! MP, here I come!" Connie shouted.

"Three square meals a day for life!" Sasha said, excited.

Jean sat alone at a table with his drink. "How in God's name did I get ranked _under_ Eren? Tch." He took a gulp of his drink.

Eren, Armin, Mikasa, Marco, and Thomas stood by the wall. "You're really gonna turn your back on the MP for the scouts?" Marco asked. "Why in the world would you do that? You're in the top 10!"

Eren looked straight ahead. "The Scouts have always been my goal. I don't _want_ the easy life. Not with all the work I've put in. I trained to fight Titans."

Thomas looked at him incredulously. "Are you insane?!" Everyone in the mess hall paused to look at the source of the sudden outburst.

He got nervous as he continued. "How many people have died? We're talking a fifth of the population. If that doesn't paint a picture for you, I don't know what will. This is our life now. We can't beat them."

Everyone kept watching was Eren spoke. "Yeah, so what? We buckle? Take it all laying down? Things have changed. Maybe not a hell of a lot, but enough. They aren't the mystery they were five years ago. There's still a long way to go, but we've made progress. Every battle we've lost taught us a lesson. Gave us the tiniest in-road toward something like hope! You telling me it's better to cut our losses, let all the death and destruction be meaningless? To just ball it up and accept it? Not on your life! Humanity's future lies outside the walls, and I'm gonna clear the way! I'm gonna take back what was ours. I'll drive them out. And as long as at least one of us can say that, we're not done."

Everyone stared at Eren silently wondering if he'd keep going. It was Eren after all.

Tears pricked at his eyes as he close them, and he bolted out of the mess hall. Armin and Mikasa followed. "Eren, wait!" Armin shouted after him.

Jean watched them go. _Hmph. Yeah, good luck out there, hotshot. I'll root for you from his Majesty's barracks._

* * *

_Trost District, outside the barracks_

Eren sat alone on a staircase, rubbing his tears away. He turned around when he heard Mikasa and Armin approaching, and turned back around. They sat next to him.

"That was, uh, quite a speech you gave us there." said Armin.

Eren chuckled. "Yeah, most of it was yours. All that stuff you used to say back in the day."

Armin looked away, a determined look on his face. "Yeah, well, I'm joining the Scout Regiment, too!" Eren gasped.

"Now your just being stupid. Come on, you're not a fighter! Your life is with books."

Armin looked down. "I'm through with letting other people fight for me." he said. Eren was surprised.

"Guess it's the Scouts for me too, then." Mikasa spoke up. She didn't talk often, except when she was with Eren and Armin. Her voice didn't really match her actions in combat.

"Oh, come on! You were top of the class! You'd be wasting your shot!"

"Understand this, Eren. Where you go, _I_ go _._ I made a promise to your mom before she died. I'm not letting you die. I've got your back whether you like it or not, so just deal with it." she declared as she looked over at him.

Eren put a hand up to his head. "Yeah, well mom's not here." he whispered.

"A lot of people I used to care about aren't here, either."

Eren sighed, then looked up at the stars. The other two did the same, in comfortable silence as a shooting star flew through the night sky. Then, there was a bright flash behind them, a multitude of colors reflecting off of the stone buildings around them, accompanied by a strange sound they've never heard before. They tore their eyes away from the pitch black abyss above them, and looked behind them. They saw a green blur fall to the ground, and heard the sound of metal clattering against stone. The figure didn't move once it fell.

Mikasa was sprinting over immediately, while Eren and Armin looked around for any other signs of possible danger. They only saw a few people strolling the streets, but in the distance, a ways away from them.

When Mikasa got to the figure, she noticed it was a boy, probably a few years younger than herself. His eyes were open, but half-lidded, and he looked dazed. He clutched a small, shiny blue object in his hand, and the object had a crack in it. Whether or not it was from the fall or not, Mikasa didn't know.

She at the ground around him and saw a golden sword, with silver crisscrossing the gold making a diamond pattern, and a brown handle. It was beautiful, really. Mikasa had never seen anything like it before. On the other side of the boy was a metal shield, silver in color, with blue as some sort of background. In the center was a red bird of sorts, and below the bird was a set of three golden triangles. There were other markings, red and silver, but she couldn't tell what they were.

 _A child?_ Mikasa thought. _He can't be more than 10, 11 at most. Why does he have these weapons? Is he okay?_ A million questions raced through her head. After a few seconds, Eren and Armin came up to them, confusion evident on their faces.

"What happened?" asked Armin. _Something was odd about those flashes earlier._

"Who's that?" demanded Eren. _He's armed. He could be dangerous. Luckily he seems about to pass out._

"I..." Mikasa started. "I'm not sure..."

"Hey." she said to the boy. "Are you alright? You had quite a fall there."

No answer. He instead brought up his hand, his blue eyes moving to look at the shiny blue object with a crack, then promptly fell on his back, passing out. They started to panic, but calmed quickly. He didn't look injured.

She touched his forehead, testing his temperature. She recoiled immediately. His skin was on fire, and she felt some kind of static shock. It didn't injure her, but it definitely hurt like hell.

"Ow! Fuck! Why is he so hot? And he shocked me!" Eren and Armin were at her side right away. If it hurt Mikasa, it must've hurt a lot.

"Mikasa! Are you alright?" asked Eren. She uncovered her hand, and they all winced at the sight. A large red mark was on the back of her hand, and it was smoking, like it was singed. She winced. Luckily, it was on the outside of her hand, so she could still grasp things like her swords just fine, though with mild discomfort.

"Yeah, I'm fine. This burn hurts a lot, though. But I can handle it."

Eren sighed at her stubbornness, like he was one to talk. "If you say so. Just promise me you'll get that looked at later."

"Eren, I'm-"

"Nope." He wasn't having it. She didn't get to worry about him every time he sneezed, and then act like a serious burn is nothing to worry about. "I don't wanna hear it. Go get that looked at after we sort out... whatever the hell this is."

Mikasa huffed. "Fine." she agreed.

Armin was studying the boy. He was certainly out of the ordinary, with those green clothes. And that hat! Who had ever seen anything like it before? He looked dressed for battle, with a belt equipped with many tools and satchels. Curiously, he untied one of the satchels from the kid's belt, and opened it.

Inside was a _large_ amount of brightly colored, pointy oval-shaped gems. They looked valuable. _Is this kid a thief? We are in a part of town where they're common. But I've never seen this gems before._ He picked one out at random. It was a silver one. It was light, like you would expect a small rock to be, and was smooth and cool to the touch. There didn't seem to be anything special about it, so he placed it back inside and tied the satchel closed.

He tried another, bigger satchel. It was a little heavier, and reddish brown in color. He opened it, and immediately smelled gunpowder. He gasped, but carefully looked inside. He saw a bunch of round, blue objects with what looked like wicks on the top of each and every one of them. _Holy shit... These are explosives! Why would a kid have these things?_ Not even soldiers could carry something so volatile. Explosives were for the artillery squads in the Garrison. He very carefully tied the bag, and carefully placed it on the ground. _Carefully._

The third and final satchel had strange nut like objects. When he tried to pick one up, he lost his grip due to its strange shape. It fell to the ground and for some reason, it shattered, emitting a really bright flash of light. He dropped the bag in surprise, as he could no longer see. Somehow, the rest of the nuts didn't go off.

Eren and Mikasa, who were talking about what to do with the boy, were interrupted from their discussion when Armin cried out and was rubbing at his eyes.

"Armin!" they both said as he ran to them. He crashed into Eren, almost knocking him over.

"Whoa!" He caught Armin. "You good?"

"I'm okay! Just blinded." After a few more seconds, he could see again. He couldn't see for about ten seconds in total.

"What could have done that?" asked Eren. Mikasa was puzzled as well. As far as they knew, they didn't have any sort of weapons or tools that could blind people. Not without shooting or stabbing them in the eyes.

"I'm not sure what they are, but the appear to be some kind of nuts. I dropped one as I was inspecting it, and it popped on the ground, and released a flash of light." he informed.

"Hm." Eren replied. "I noticed you were poking around other bags as well. Did you find anything interesting?"

"I think so? All of the stuff he has on him, I've never seen it before. And what kind of nuts blind people? He also had a bag what I assume are explosives, because they smelled like gunpowder. I haven't even looked at everything yet. I feel kinda bad for snooping through his stuff, but I couldn't help myself."

"Classic Armin," said Eren. Mikasa nodded her head, and if you looked close enough, you could see the barest hint of a smile. Those from her were a once in a lifetime sight.

Mikasa was curious now, too. "What else does he have? He dropped a fancy looking sword and shield when he got here. I've never seen anything like them before. The sword looks like it's made of gold and steel, and the shield has weird markings."

"The first bag I looked through had a bunch of different colored gems inside. They were all the same shape and size, and some were more common than others."

Eren walked over to the still unconscious boy. On the side of his belt, he had a line of six bottles, each with a different liquid inside. There were three red, one green, one blue, and one white. _Medicine, perhaps?_

These bottles appeared to be made of glass, and somehow didn't break from the impact with the stone. Eren opened one of the red ones, and inhaled the scent. _Huh? It doesn't smell like anything? What is this crap?_ He smelled the green and blue ones, and got the same result. The white one, however, smelled of alcohol. _What the fuck? He has alcohol on him? First explosives, now alcohol. He has to be some kind of thief._ _Kids around here loved to steal what they couldn't have._

"Guys!" he shouted back at them. "This one smells like alcohol!" He held up the white bottle.

"Really? I've never seen a drink that looks like that before. Except milk." said Armin. "So what now?"

"Well, the closest doctor is the one the barracks has" Mikasa offered. "so we'll take him there."

"Alright then, help me get him up." Eren grabbed his legs. He noticed what looked like a mask on the backside of his belt. _What could that be?_

Mikasa grabbed him again, and got shocked again, though less severely than last time. "Ow! Again?" It left a much smaller and lighter mark on her other hand.

"Huh? But I can touch him just fine. See?" He was still holding his legs.

"Armin, you try." He did so, and he didn't get shocked.

"Weird..." he said. Together, Eren and Armin carried him while Mikasa carried his stuff. The shiny blue object looked delicate, so she placed it in her pocket. Her hands were a little full, but she managed.

* * *

When they got to the barracks, there weren't any people around, so they must've still been at the mess hall. _Good. No one to ask questions we can't answer,_ Armin thought. They made it to the clinic and the nurse sent a questioning gaze their way. She looked away when she saw who was carrying the new patient.

"I'm not even gonna ask." she said in a monotone voice. She got up as the two teens rested the boy on a bed, and walked over to examine him. Mikasa placed his belongings down next to the bed, out of the way.

The nurse couldn't believe how hot the child's skin was. Whatever it was that did this to him, should've killed him. Something didn't sit right with her.

Eren, Armin, and Mikasa were seated in chairs around the bed, possibly hoping for him to wake up. They had plenty of time, and were off tomorrow morning anyway.

The nurse began removing his clothing to examine him closer. When his shirt was off, she noted how fit the boy was. He didn't have a six-pack or anything, but he was certainly toned, and didn't seem unhealthy. What was unhealthy, was the amount of scars that lined his entire torso and arms.

The three teens saw from their seats, and were stunned.

 _What the hell has this kid been doing? Did he take on a damn army?_ Eren wondered.

"Holy mother of Maria..." Armin said aloud.

 _The world is a cruel place..._ Mikasa thought bitterly. She hoped he didn't deserve these scars.

The nurse, after examining his breathing and heartbeat, concluded he was fine, and was just resting. He'd probably wake up in a few hours.

"Thank the gods..." Armin said.

"Maybe he can answer our questions." said Eren.

"Just let the boy breathe when he wakes up?" the nurse said, sorry for the kid who was about to be bombarded with questions from these three. "Now, girl, I've been worried about that burn,"

Mikasa complied, holding out her hand. The nurse froze. Mikasa gasped when she saw it, too.

_What? Where'd it go?_

* * *

A few hours later, they had all fallen asleep. Armin was leaned back in his chair, as well as Mikasa, and Eren had his head in her lap.

Mikasa was the first to stir, noticing Eren's head. She looked down at his sleeping form, smiling to herself. _As noisy as he is and as much trouble he causes, he sure looks cute when he sleeps._ She couldn't stop looking at him.

Armin was beginning to wake up as well when Mikasa heard the bed sheets rustle. Her head snapped up to the bed and she saw the boy, waking up. She rushed over, and Eren fell unceremoniously onto the floor, which woke him up.

"Ow... Mikasa, what the he-"

"Shhh." she said, staring at the boy. Armin walked over to her and Eren rubbed his head. He got up and looked at the kid. His eyes were closed as he stretched.

The boy stopped moving as he felt he was being watched. All three of them held their breath.

His blue eyes opened.

* * *

_**ACT I: The Battle for Trost** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are! This is the end of the Prologue, and the main story will start next chapter. While I was writing this one, I was still thinking about where to put Link's arrival, and I decided that night was good since they had free time. Everything up until Link's arrival was straight out of episode 4, The Night of the Graduation Ceremony. Hope you enjoyed, and get ready for the next chapter! Let the story officially begin!


	3. The Battle for Trost (1) - Introductions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, and welcome back to another installment of Heroes and Titans! Today, we'll be officially starting the story, kicking it off with ACT I: The Battle for Trost. To the people who have reviewed, followed, and favorited so far, thank you so much! I have nothing else to say, other than enjoy the loooooong boi!

**_ACT I: The Battle for Trost_ **

_Chapter 1: Introductions_

* * *

_Trost District Barracks Clinic, 10:03 P.M._

His blue eyes opened. He was immediately greeted by three pairs of eyes, all of which were full of a mixture of curiosity and concern. There were two boys, and one girl, who stared at him with an unfaltering gaze. She looked familiar, but he wasn't sure. One of the people looked angry, but maybe that was just his face. The third was a smaller, almost timid looking boy with blond hair. They stared back at him, not saying a word or moving an inch. The boy in green exhaled, not realizing he was holding his breath.

"Um... hi?" he said plainly. They all looked like they wanted to talk, but just couldn't think of where to start.

The angry looking one decided to take the initiative, a neutral expression forming on his face. "So, you sure woke up quick, considering the fall you had." he said. "Mind telling us what the hell happened to you? And why you aren't dead?"

"You had us pretty worried for a bit, there." the blond said worriedly. The girl nodded at his words, eyes still fixated on the kid.

"I was hoping you could tell me what happened. Last I remember, I had left Clock Town and was leaving through a forest."

All three of them raised their eyebrows at this. "Clock Town? I've never heard of a town with such a name within the walls." the blond said, confused. "Which wall is it in?"

It was the kid's turn to raise his eyebrows in confusion. " _Which_ wall? Clock Town has only one wall. And it's on the outside. Are we not in Termina?"

The familiar girl with black hair finally spoke, eyes widening. "Termina? Are you from outside the walls?" she asked quickly.

The boy was even more confused. "I... uh... yes?" he said slowly. Two of the three gasped in shock. The angry one didn't seem to believe him at all. "What? What's the big deal?"

The blond spoke up first, shock still evident on his face. "It's just that... no one has _ever_ come from outside the walls before... it almost sounds fake."

"I don't buy it. As much as I want to believe it, with the Scouts' mortality rate, there's no way a kid like him could survive outside the walls. Even for a day."

The boy took some offense to this, but he didn't exactly know where he was. Sure, Termina was dangerous, but he could get around just fine by himself. Well, himself and- _wait._

"Where's my horse?!" he sat up abruptly, eyes wide with fear, bracing himself on the sides of the bed. The others jumped at his sudden outburst. The girl had her arm out in front of the angry one.

The angry one answered him. "I didn't see any horse. Only the Survey Corps has horses, as they're the only ones who need them. Seeing as you're not apart of them, you shouldn't have one. Unless, of course, you _stole_ it." _I knew he was a damn thief._

"Stole? I'll have you know I..." he stopped. _Shit. I did actually steal it, but not from this 'Survey Corps' or whatever he said._

"You're actually right. I _did_ steal the horse I'm talking about. But not from the people you mentioned. I made a bet for the horse with a ranch owner, won fair and square. And he still double-crossed me. I see nothing wrong with that."

"And how am I supposed to believe that? Take your word? I don't think so. When we found you, you had some pretty interesting stuff. Illegal stuff. Unless you're in the military, which you aren't. How old are you anyway?" The angry one looked a little fed up now.

"I think I'm 11 now." _Goddesses, has it really been a year since I left Kokiri Forest?_ "I haven't been keeping track of the days since I left home."

"What kind of kid doesn't know his own birthday?" Angry pants asked.

"One that doesn't have the time to worry about such pointless things. Knowing my age is enough for me." The boy said.

"What could you possibly-"

"Eren," The blond chided. "quit it. He just woke up and you're being an ass. He gave you an answer. Drop it."

The one apparently named Eren sighed deeply. "Fine. Whatever."

"Well, I'll continue the sharing of names. My name is Link."

"No surname?" the blond asked.

"Nope. Where I come from, only royalty and nobles have surnames."

 _Huh._ "Well, I'm Armin, and the ass is Eren. She's Mikasa." he gestured to them respectively.

"Nice to meet you all, I guess," Link said. Armin smiled.

Eren resumed asking questions. "Speaking of, where _are_ you from? If you're from outside the walls, just know that you're the only one out of about a million people." All three of them looked at Link expectantly.

"I'm from Hyrule Kingdom. It's a large country to the... actually, I have no idea which direction it is. Where are we right now?"

"We're currently at a clinic in the barracks of the Trost District. We're at the very south of Wall Rose." Mikasa answered.

"You guys keep mentioning walls." Link was intrigued now. "How many walls are there? How big are they?"

Armin, who knew all about the history of the walls, decided to fill him in. "There used to be three walls. Wall Maria, the largest, Wall Rose, the second wall, and Wall Sina, the interior. Most of the nobles and his Majesty the King reside there."

"Wait. You said there 'used' to be three. What happened to the third one?" Link didn't like where this was going.

Eren was visibly upset by this question. "What the fuck did you just ask?! Do you even know how terrible the loss of Wall Maria was? People are still affected by it today!" Mikasa put a hand on his shoulder to calm him.

"Relax, Eren." she said. "Clearly he really isn't from here if he doesn't know. _Everyone_ knows."

He backed down. "Fine, I guess I believe you, then. How crazy is that? Someone from outside the walls right in front of us." He started to get excited as his mind raced with questions.

Armin resumed his explanation. He looked a little sad now. "Five years ago, Wall Maria was breached through the Shiganshina District. For reference, the walls are all fifty meters high. We lost nearly twenty percent of the remaining human population. The people who survived the breach, including us, were forced to evacuate with no notice at all." Eren and Mikasa both had sad looks, cast toward the ground.

"Because so many people lived in Wall Maria, there wasn't enough room or food to go around. The government sent two-hundred fifty-thousand people, all of which were untrained civilians, to try and retake the territory. Under two-hundred returned."

Link couldn't believe what he was hearing. No wonder Eren got upset at his question. A fifty meter wall. Breached. _Twenty percent_ of the _remaining_ human population was annihilated in a day. All of these factors pointed to one singular question. "What breached the wall?" They looked at him incredulously.

"You're joking." Eren said.

"There's no way you haven't heard of them." Mikasa said.

"The wall was compromised with one kick from the Colossal Titan." Armin answered. "Do you not know what Titans are, Link?"

"Nope. But from the sound of it, they sound dangerous if one alone kicked a hole in a fifty meter high wall, and killed at least a billion people."

"A billion?! Nice joke kid, there's only a million people left in both walls."

 _Oh._ _He did say 'remaining human population' a few times. Damn._

"So I take it humanity is on it's last legs here?" They all nodded solemnly.

"To clarify, Link, Titans are giant humanoid creatures that feed on humans. They appeared suddenly about 107 years ago, and drove humanity to the brink of extinction. The three walls were erected to protect us from them, and they held for over a century. Until the Colossal Titan appeared. It's the largest Titan recorded in history, standing about 60 meters tall. Once it broke the wall, regular Titans, that vary in heights between 4 and 15 meters. They also lack intelligence, so their actions are purely instinctual."

Eren chimed in bitterly. "The worst part, is they don't even eat us to survive, like wild animals would. No. They eat us... just to kill us. It's like a damn game to them." He clenched his fist, seething.

"There was another Titan that assisted in the fall of Wall Maria. The Armored Titan. It was much shorter than the Colossal, but taller than the regular ones. It had impenetrable armor encasing its entire body. With that armor, it breach the gates out of Shiganshina but _running straight through it_." Armin said.

 _Holy mother of Hylia,_ Link thought. _These people have it bad. And I thought the Gerudo had it bad, being sentenced to death after Ganondorf's betrayal of Hyrule._ After Link was sent back in time by Princess Zelda to relive his childhood, he filled her in when they met again, saying he used the Ocarina of Time and the legendary Master Sword to defeat Ganon in the future. He proved it by not only knowing about the Ocarina's existence, which was a very carefully guarded secret of the Royal Family, but he brought the Spiritual Stone of the Forest, the Kokiri's Emerald. Zelda believed his story right away, saying she saw him in a dream with the same stone.

Together, they told the King of Hyrule about Ganondorf's treachery. He was arrested on the spot, and executed later. His people, the Gerudo Tribe, were a desert dwelling race of women that had to steal to survive the harsh conditions of the western Gerudo Desert. They were all unfairly deemed guilty by association, and exiled to the Arbiter's Grounds deep within the desert, only to perish.

With the Gerudo people, only one man was born every 100 years. That man would be raised to become the next Gerudo King. Ganondorf was their last King. The Gerudo did not like outsiders, especially men. They would rob, kill, and sometimes capture the good looking men to fulfill their sexual desires. Anyone who escaped their grasp was considered lucky. The King of Hyrule decided they would not take action against the Gerudo Tribe, as long as they stayed in the desert. Anyone who ventured there received no sympathy from the citizens of Hyrule.

"Eren," Link said. The teen in question looked up.

"Yeah?"

"You mentioned a military earlier. Is their purpose to fight these Titans?" Link asked.

"Yes and no. There are three branches you can choose when they graduate from training. There's the Garrison, they protect and maintain the walls. Think of them like the town guard. Then there's the Survey Corps, or the Scouts. They travel outside of the walls to potentially establish bases outside of the walls, and fight Titans directly. Easily the most dangerous of the three. The final branch is the Military Police. Stationed within Wall Sina, far away from any action, they directly serve the King and his council. They're more or less law enforcement."

"And the three of us are going to join the Scouts tonight." Link was surprised at this.

"Kids as young as you can join the military?"

"Don't call us kids! We've been through too much to be coddled. But yeah. Since we don't have very many people in the first place, they need any able bodies they can get. You still have to be at least twelve. Most of the weak are weeded out after the first day of training. It's a pretty harsh environment. But given the circumstances, most people don't mind being berated and yelled at for just existing."

They sat in awkward silence for a minute before Mikasa asked her own questions.

"So, Link..." she started, unsure of how to continue. "are you a fighter?" Eren and Armin perked up at the question.

"Why do you ask?" Her eyes darted around the room nervously for a few seconds. Then they settled on his body. He looked down and realized he was shirtless. _Uh oh._

_How the hell do I answer that? Do I just tell them who I am? No, they barely believed I'm from outside the walls. Why would they believe I traveled through time to save an entire kingdom from ruin? That I went to an alternate dimension and saved a random town from a moon with a face?_

"In a way." he answered rather mysteriously,

"What is that supposed to mean?" Mikasa questioned. Link shrugged.

"Well..." he began. "About a year ago, I left home on a journey. I used to live in a forest, but decided it was too small a place for someone like me. Too cramped. I wanted to get out and see the world. And I did. But it wasn't everything I hoped." They listened with interest.

"It was better." They perked up. Armin's eyes were practically sparkling. Link smiled.

"Can you tell us more? We've always wanted to explore outside the walls, but the laws here are strict. Only the Survey Corps can leave the walls."

"I'll give you details later of you want. Anyway, back to Mikasa's question. Yes, I'm a fighter. In my travels, at first I was just a naive child. I had to experience first-hand what the horrors of reality were, up close and personal. Before I even left, my father figure died right in front of my eyes. I didn't even have time to mourn. I had no choice but to shove everything down, and turn the other way."

Eren frowned. "You said traveling the world was 'better' than you expected. How the hell is that better?"

"Because I learned how to adapt."

He thought about his first night outside the forest, how the Wolfos chased him for hours until he could barely stand. He remembered when he first drew the Master Sword, and returned to Kokiri Forest, only to find out his family didn't recognize him. "I overcame my fears, and faced them head on instead of running away. I took up my sword. And I fought. I lived. And I won." Eren and Mikasa froze.

 _Whoa._ Eren thought. _My respect for this kid just shot through the roof. Stealing shit be damned._

 _Those are the same words Eren said to me all those years ago,_ Mikasa realized. _And Link had to learn the hard way. On his own, with no one to tell him what to do._ She clutched her red scarf to her face.

"This journey has changed me, in more ways than one. You wouldn't believe me if I told you, so I wont bother." Link said.

* * *

Armin finally asked what they have wanted to know all night. "So, enough about tragic pasts. What's with the strange gear you have? We inspected it while you were out, and I'm very curious. I blinded myself with one of those nuts, by the way."

Link laughed loudly at this. "You snooped through my stuff? Guess I can't blame you, I just kinda fell out of the sky, after all. Those are Deku nuts. Their purpose is to blind and disorient an opponent, to create an opening in combat. They're highly effective."

Mikasa was next. "What about those blue things? They smelled like explosives." Her eyes narrowed.

"Ah," Link said. Those are just bombs. They're decently strong explosives, capable of destroying a small wall to create an opening. They don't cause fires usually, but the blast force is very strong and will send you flying if you're close enough. The wick is lit with friction, like a match, and has about a 5 second fuse."

Armin was curious about the gems. "The first thing I checked out was a bag of gems. Are they valuable?"

"Yep. They're called 'rupees', which are the currency where I come from. Each color is a different value. Green is 1, blue is 5, yellow is 10, red is 20, purple is 50, bronze is 100, silver is 200, and gold is 300. And yes I'm definitely rolling in it. I just don't spend my money on things I don't need. I use it for supplies, weapons, repairs, lodging when I stay in a town... and even bribing."

"Bribing? Why?" Armin asked.

"There's nothing more reliable and consistent than the greed of man." Link responded.

 _Good point,_ the blond thought. _He seems smart._

"One last question. What about the bottles? I smelled them, and I assume their some type of medicine." Link nodded, confirming his observations. "But what puzzled me the most was the white one." Link's eyes widened. He may have been allowed to drink in Termina, but he didn't know the law here.

"You didn't drink any, did you?"

"No, but it smelled like alcohol. Care to explain?" Link relented.

"In Termina and Hyrule, the legal drinking age is 17. But I was able to prove something _and_ helped the local bar owner with a problem. He let me in but I still wasn't allowed to drink."

"Why do you have this then? I could turn you in right now for underage drinking." Eren said.

"Well..." _Shit._ Eren had him backed into a corner.

"Out with it already! Did you steal this?"

"No!" he defended. "I paid full price for it!"

"How?"

"You really wanna know?" All three nodded.

"A drinking contest." They gaped.

After getting over his initial shock, Eren continued. "A drinking contest? Were they insane?"

Mikasa's face was neutral again, but had the slightest look of curiosity. "Did you win?"

"Mikasa!" Eren and Armin both scolded.

"Yep. The bet was this: if I beat the top three champions of the bar, I was allowed to purchase my own drinks with no restrictions. And I had to do it back to back." Link was almost bragging now. Mikasa seemed impressed, but almost a little disturbed.

"No way!" Armin said. "How are you alive?"

"Simple. I'm not human." Armin and Eren laughed, while Mikasa squinted, which Link didn't notice. _Yep, I was definitely joking. Ha._

"So, back to the other bottles. The red ones are healing potions. They're designed to work on Hylians, but less efficient on regular humans. Small animals can benefit, too. Take a few sips, it'll instantly close and clean any open wounds. It works on broken bones too, but you need to drink more and rest longer. The next step is to rest for at least a few minutes to ensure a perfect recovery." The three teens gaped once more. "The green one will replenish your stamina over a few minutes. And finally, the blue one will completely restore you to perfect, peak condition _instantaneously,_ no rest required. It's definitely saved my ass on a few occasions. They're very expensive, the ingredients are rare, and it's hard to make. One bottle cost me over a thousand rupees. I didn't even have to buy the bottle".

 _Holy shit,_ Armin thought. "It's like magic!" he said rather excitedly.

Eren couldn't believe this. He'd have to see it in action first.

Mikasa stayed silent, as always.

"It is," Link elaborated. "that's why they work so well. That and raw mushrooms." Eren gagged, and Armin cringed. Link chuckled.

"Well, anyway, I think it's time for me to go back to sleep. I'm still a little sore, and I trust I answered your questions to your satisfaction?" Armin nodded.

"For now," he said. "Well, goodnight Link. Thanks for, uh, falling out of nowhere?" Link chuckled.

"Sure thing. Take it easy for the night. See you three in the morning, I guess?" he nodded.

"Sure, we have tomorrow morning off-duty since we just graduated tonight. We can talk more in the morning."

"Yeah," Eren agreed. "I wanna know more about outside the walls. See ya tomorrow."

"Oh, wait." Mikasa suddenly said. She withdrew a small blue object from her pocket. "This is yours." She handed it to him.

"My ocarina!" he said in relief. "Thanks for keeping it safe. I'm glad it didn't shatter from the fall."

"What is it?" Mikasa asked. She studied it. It had numerous holes and a smaller part sticking out on one side.

"An ocarina. It's a musical instrument. I play it like this." He put the mouthpiece in his mouth and began to play the first song he ever learned. _Zelda's Lullaby._ It didn't last long. When he was done, everyone yawned.

"That was nice," Armin said. "It made me kinda tired. Let's go turn in, guys."

They all left the room, while Link opened a bottle, taking a sip of his red potion. He wasn't injured, but was still sore from the impact of the fall, and could still feel the warmth from the magic energy of the portal. He lay back and closed his eyes. He would have the best sleep he had in a year that night.

* * *

_Trost District Barracks, Boys' Dormitory, 8:00 A.M._

Eren's internal clock woke him up right at eight. He rose from his bed, stretching and yawning before getting up and heading to the bathroom. On his way, he noticed Armin's bed was already empty and remade, him nowhere in sight.

Armin was always an early riser, and Eren frequently woke up to him silently reading a book on his bed. Usually they would get ready and head down to breakfast together.

 _He must've gotten hungry and decided to leave me behind, that traitor,_ he joked in his head. Once in the bathroom, he took a look at himself in the mirror. _Still no facial hair,_ he thought. He was fifteen, and still had nothing to show for it. _Oh well, maybe someday._

As intimidating as his face could look sometimes, if he didn't have the permanent angry look in his face, you'd say he has a baby face. He hopped in the shower to wash away his drowsiness. The one thing he couldn't get used to as a cadet, was the lack of sleep due to training. And it was only going to get worse from now on.

He sat under the scalding, steaming water for about ten minutes before shaking away his thoughts and soaping down. All that training made one dirty, after all.

Once he was done drying off, he got dressed in his casual clothes. First he changed his bottoms to a pair of brown pants, put on his belt, then slipped into a beige long-sleeved shirt. It had laces at the collar, but he left them untied. They were his civilian clothes, after all. No dress code.

He put on his pair of brown shoes, fit for walking around for long periods of time, and even combat. They were comfortable. Now that he was ready for the day, he strode out of his dorm, and made way for the mess hall. He was hungry.

Upon his arrival to the mess hall, it was already bustling. It was mostly soldiers who had morning shifts, some were lazily sauntering around while carrying plates of food. He saw Jean sitting by himself, and their eyes met for a second. Neither reacted, or made any faces.

Jean's gaze returned to it's original location. Eren followed it to another table, where he saw a very familiar red scarf and beautiful black hair. Eren sighed. _Jean just can't stop daydreaming, can't he?_ He thought.

She was already wearing her uniform, complete with the jacket. She wore gray pants, and dark brown, knee-high leather boots.

Eren gathered some food and filled a mug with water. He sat down next to Mikasa, who was sitting across from Armin. Neither looked tired. Armin had a book on the table and was reading, food untouched, while Mikasa looked at Eren. She swallowed her food.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked.

"Well enough," he replied. "You?"

"Same, I guess."

Eren looked back the blond, his nose stuck in the book. "What'cha reading there, Armin?" he asked curiously.

No response. Eren sighed, and Mikasa let out the quietest giggle. _Classic Armin_ , she thought.

"Armin." Eren said again, this time a little more firmly.

"Huh? What?" he said, startled. He glanced up at Eren. "Did you need something?"

"I asked what you were reading." Armin began to explain.

"It's a book about plants. Link mentioned yesterday that his medicine was made with mushrooms, so I decided to see if I could find anything interesting."

"Any luck?"

"Nope. Nothing." he said. "This Hyrule Link mentioned he was from must be further away than we thought. I've never read anything about _anything_ he talked about last night. "Speaking of..." Armin looked up and saw Link walking in on the other side of the room, behind the nurse from last night. He had his gear strapped to him properly now.

 _Hm, he looks a little more intimidating with that sword and shield. He's also not tired anymore, and his face looks a little sharper._ Kind of like Mikasa's. Sharp to his enemies, but soft to his friends. Link perked up when he saw them. The nurse was directing him through the crowd over to the food. He grabbed a few things, and started walking over to their table. He had eyes all over him as the nurse walked back to her office. He got a little nervous, and picked up his pace, then sat next to Armin. A taller boy with ash-brown hair leveled a glare at Link from his table.

"Morning, guys. What's with the people staring? I get that I look different, but it's a little rude."

"Don't mind them," Armin whispered. "everyone's just waking up, and the stress from training is still wearing off."

"Alright..." Link said, unsure of how to feel. He opened a bottle of milk, sipping on it occasionally.

Armin closed his book. "So, I know it's early, but would you mind breaking this boring silence? Tell us more about the outside world! Have you ever seen the sea? A desert? A giant rock thousands of meters high? Fiery water?"

Link chuckled. "Whoa, there. One at a time, please." He seemed eager to learn, and Link could respect that. Being caged in these walls must leave some form of longing for knowledge.

"I traveled all over Hyrule and Termina. Hyrule Kingdom is mostly open plains, and the civilizations are on the outskirts of Hyrule Field. There's a market and Hyrule Castle to the north, Lake Hylia to the south, Gerudo Desert to the west, and Kokiri Forest to the east. That's where I'm from."

"Did you live in a tree house?" Eren asked as a joke. Link nodded and they laughed.

"Yep, I literally had my own hut in a tree. Ladder and everything..." He trailed off, thinking of home.

"In the center of Hyrule Field, there's a ranch. It's where my horse was raised. One of the ranch hands there loved to wager, and bet the horse that I couldn't beat him in a race with that horse, and I won the race. _Twice_ , because he wasn't satisfied the first time. He locked the gate on me and said I couldn't leave."

"How childish." Mikasa said bitterly. Link nodded.

"So, I did the only logical thing. I rode fast and jumped the fence." he said, smiling fondly at the memory. Epona was so happy to be free. He needed to find her.

"There was also Death Mountain to the northeast. It's a dormant volcano, and there's a village in the foothills. It was quite peaceful there."

"'Death Mountain'? Is that a giant rock? And why does it have 'death' in the name?" Armin asked.

"Death Mountain isn't just any old mountain. It's a volcano." Their brows raised in confusion. "A volcano is a type of mountain, with a crater at the top that leads down to under the Earth's surface. Inside, is that fiery water you were referring to. Except, it's not water. It's called magma. It's molten rock, sitting at many thousands of degrees. Touching it would burn off your skin instantly, if you even got that close. The heat was so intense, it'd kill you in minutes of being in proximity of it."

"Shit..." Eren said. "Extremely dangerous, then."

"Eren," Mikasa spoke up. "I don't want you going anywhere near a volcano. I won't allow it."

He didn't feel like arguing this morning. "Ugh, fine." he said, exasperatedly.

Link took this as a chance to impress them. "I had to explore one once. Twice, actually."

Armin gasped. "You did?! How'd you deal with the heat?"

"The first time wasn't so bad. It was a cavern at the base of the mountain. It had magma pockets, but it wasn't too hot. The real hard part, was the crater. I explored a temple deep within the center of the mountain. I had assistance, though. A special tunic designed to repel heat. I would've died without it." Link informed.

"How could cloth do something as amazing as that?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I just kinda rolled with it." _Heh. Goron pun._

"What about the desert? I read it's nothing but sand! Is it really true?" Armin asked expectantly.

"Yep! It's also very hot in deserts, too. If you travel barefoot, your feet will definitely be burnt by the time you leave. There isn't much wildlife there, plants included. But there are a few exceptions."

"Like what?"

"There's a type of fruit called a hydromelon. Just one slice is enough to keep you cooled for an hour. I should also mention, deserts are dry. You'll find no water for _miles_. If you aren't prepared for the worst, you'll likely get stranded and die. A lot of the predators there hide underground and wait for prey to pass by."

"Wow, some animals are really smart! Now, what can you tell me about the sea?"

"Well, there's water that extends past the horizon-"

Two hands slammed on the table. Jean had a smirk on his face.

 _Oh no._ Eren thought. _Jean's here to make a new friend._

Mikasa sighed. _Great._

 _Oh no!_ Armin thought.

"So," Jean started, glaring at Link. "just who in the hell are you?"

Link was a little upset that his conversation with Armin was interrupted. He said nothing for a few seconds.

"Doesn't matter to you, and besides, it's pretty rude to interrupt a conversation. Especially one that you're not apart of." Some of the other soldiers in the room started giggling like schoolchildren.

"What did you say to me?! And what the fuck are those clothes? Did your mommy make them for you?"

Link sighed. "No. She's dead." he said simply. Most of the soldier present in the room gasped, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin included.

"Link..." Armin said. Jean was shocked for a split second before he kept going. Eren looked ready to lash out. Mikasa was eyeballing Jean out of the corner of her eye, still facing forward.

"Never mind that. What I wanted to say, is that a little kid like you doesn't belong here in the barracks with us soldiers." Clearly he didn't see the sword on his back, or was ignoring it, too busy trying to scare off a kid.

Link cringed. "Soldier, huh? If you're a soldier, shouldn't you be off protecting your people, instead of harassing an innocent child who's trying to talk with his friends?" A bunch of "oohs" went around the room.

This didn't seem to bother him much. "Innocent child? I see that sword and shield on your back. Are you playing soldier, or do you actually know how to fight?" He smirked after that, thinking he had won.

Link smirked back. "Oh, I see how it is." He smiled innocently. "Care to test you mettle?" The crowd had formed a circle around the table. "Or can you not beat up such a scrawny little boy like me? I'm not even old enough to be here."

Jean's eyebrow twitched as people around him began laughing loudly, shouting encouragements Link's way. _Is he making fun of me?! I'll show him..._ He went to reach for his collar when the door slammed open. Commandant Shadis scanned the room, looking for Jean. He could recognize that voice anywhere. He spotted him, and glared. He didn't see Link since he was seated and short.

"Whatever you're about to do Jean, you do it outside, ya hear me! I don't want you breakin' shit, Understand?!"

"Sir!" he snapped to attention, saluting as Shadis slammed the door shut. It was so quiet in the mess hall, you could hear his footsteps from the other side.

Link was already making his way outside. He turned around in the door frame. "Well?" he said, an annoyed expression on his face. "You coming or not?" The cadets around Jean glanced from Link, then back to him expectantly. Jean hurried after Link, the door swinging open.

The rest of the soldiers in the mess hall stood silent for about ten seconds gawking at what just happened. Some still couldn't believe it.

"Did Jean just challenge a kid to a fight? What an asshole!" shouted Connie.

"No, I think that kid challenged _him_ to a fight." said Sasha, talking with her mouth full.

"Who do ya'll think'll win?" said a random cadet.

"Jean, for sure! He ain't ranked sixth for nothin'!" another said. Some of them began placing bets.

"My bet's on the kid." said a girl with tanned skin and freckles,

"Yeah, okay Ymir." teased a short blonde girl.

"I'm worried about Link..." said Armin. Can he really beat Jean? Maybe we should stop them..."

Eren shook his head. "I don't know, Link seemed pretty confident. Then again, he doesn't know who the top ten are. Maybe we could use this as an excuse to see how skilled he is."

Mikasa nodded. "Let's go, then." The three of them stood up and went outside. The rest of the cadets followed.

* * *

_Trost District Barracks Training Yard, 9:37 A.M._

The sun was already beating down despite it being so early. All of the soldiers had piled out in the training yard. In the center, stood Link and Jean. They stared at each other intensely. Jean had a pair of swords, uninstalled from some spare ODM Gear.

The air was stagnant as Link breathed in, eyes closed. Then they snapped open, and he drew his Gilded Sword, accompanied by the sound of metal scraping against the scabbard,as well his shield. Soldiers marveled at the unusual beauty of his sword.

Jean wasn't so impressed. "What's a fancy-looking sword if it can't cut Titan flesh? Can that thing even cut the air?"

Link stared back. "I'm not sure! Let me slice through your head as a test." The other soldiers laughed at his jab.

Eren laughed the hardest. The kid was already growing on him. _Anyone who goes at Jean like this is a friend of mine!_

Armin was looking between the two, with a worried expression on his face. _Who will come out on top?_

Mikasa watched passively. She wondered how he fought. Perhaps in a year he could join the military? She silently cheered him on in her mind.

"First one to disarm the other is the victor." said Jean. Link nodded in agreement.

The two circled each other for what felt like forever, before Link decided to make the first move. He charged, but it wasn't a blind charge. He watched Jean carefully as he darted toward him, sword behind him and shield out front. Jean went to slice but Link blocked with his shield easily.

Jean gauged his strength. _How did he block it so easily? Sure it's a shield, but he effortless stopped my attack. Someone of his size shouldn't be that strong._ Link brought his sword around Jeans side and he decided it was best to dodge backwards.

Narrowly missing, Link pushed his assault without relenting one bit. He had Jean on the defensive as he was forced to either dodge or parry with his swords. Link made his own battle analysis.

_He's not as strong as he looks, and my speed seemed to surprise him. Looks like he's been trained to fight Titans, but not very well against people. I'll take advantage of that._

Link brought up his shield to block an incoming sword, but then noticed the other coming from the side. _He's not completely stupid, after all_. Link back flipped out of the way. The crowd got excited at his show of agility.

 _Damn, he's fast!_ Jean thought. _If he keeps coming at me like, that it's only a matter of time before he catches me off guard. He's also small and hard to hit. That coupled with his ridiculous strength, I'm at a disadvantage!_ Jean kept backing up and weaving around Link's vicious slashes.

Link managed to land a nick on Jeans cheek, which pissed him off. Blood leaked onto his face. _Gah! If I'm not careful, this fight's as good as over!_

Jean decided to use his anger to his advantage. His rage was his strength. His power. He need more. He thought of that suicidal bastard Yeager. There was a fire in his eyes now. He waited until Link was recoiling from a parry, then rushed him. _Gotcha!_

Luckily, Link anticipated this and smirked. He ducked under the attack shoved his shield into Jeans chest as he raised his swords to strike. The sudden force knocked him back, and he stumbled and tripped on a rock. Link knocked him to the floor with a kick, and held his sword to Jeans neck, no trace of emotion on his face. It startled him.

"It's over." Link declared as thee crowed cheered. Most people were shocked, not expecting one of their top ten to fall so easily to a kid who wasn't even old enough to join the military.

"Well, I'll be damned," a soldier said, surprised.

"The kid actually did it. Quickly, too" another said.

Eren was dying of laughter at Jean's embarrassment, and Armin breathed a sigh of relief. The crowd watched as he flicked his sword around his waist, flourished his sword in his hand a few times, and sheathed it in one swift motion. Mikasa was glad he won, but she had made her decision.

She wanted to fight him.

 _He's clearly mastered the art of swordplay._ She thought. _That strength. It was inhuman. Just like mine. His speed is unlike any other fighter I've ever seen. I've finally found someone who can match me in combat._ _He also showed incredible tact for his age. No panic at all._ She needed him to become her sparring partner. They could probably learn a lot from each other.

* * *

She approached Link after a few minutes. He was sitting on a bench, drinking some ice cold milk. He noticed her and scooted over so she could sit next to him, which she did. Link looked up at her.

He held out his bottle to her. "You want some?" he asked. She took the bottle in her hands and studied it closely. Inside was a white liquid. It seemed just a tad thicker than water.

"What is it?" she asked.

"You've never seen milk before? I'm sorry to hear that. It's a liquid that cows produce. It tastes fantastic, and is very healthy. What else could you ask for in a drink?" he said.

Mikasa observed the creamy beverage a little longer before finally taking a sip. _Wow, this stuff is good. But where did he get it? Most of the livestock was in Wall Maria, and he wasn't here before it fell. Maybe be brought it with him from Termina._ Link looked at her to see what she thought. "Well?"

"It's good. Although it's a shame that all the cows we had were on the other side of the wall. They're not dead or anything, the farmers just couldn't bring them without risking their lives."

She handed the bottle back to him, and he capped it and put it on his belt. They sat in blissful silence for a few moments before Mikasa finally made her proposal. She turned to look at him.

"Can I fight you?"

Link blinked in surprise a few times. _Did I hear that right?_ "Um... why?"

"I saw the way you fought Jean back there. Your movements and skill with a sword are like nothing I've ever seen before," she said quickly.

"I'll ask again. Can I fight you?" Her voice had a little more edge to it, but wasn't hostile. She was still looking at him.

"I don't see why not. I could use a little more exercise and training. It's been a few days, since I've been resting. Though, if you don't mind me asking... Jean was placed sixth in your class, right?" Mikasa nodded. "What about you? Where did you place?"

She looked straight ahead. "I'm the top of the class. Number one." she said. _I hope that didn't come off as cocky. We saw how far that got Jean._ Link pondered this information for a minute.

"Ah, I get it."

"Excuse me?" Mikasa wondered what he was talking about.

"You're number one, and you just saw me very easily take down one of the other top ten soldiers. You want someone who matches your own skills closely. You want someone to spar with."

 _Damn. He saw right through me._ "I guess you're right."

"Are you stronger than everyone else?"

"I..." She looked down at the ground. "Yes. Much stronger than them."

"Okay. Meet me back in the training yard in a few. Let's give your fellow soldiers a good show!" He hopped off the bench and walked back to the yard.

* * *

The soldiers were still talking about the crazy fight that had gone on. It seemed they had underestimated the kid. He was fast, strong, smart, and skilled. He had it all. And he pinned down one of their best in minutes.

Jean was still present, just sitting out on the side. He doesn't let embarrassment affect him. He was a soldier. He had to be strong, if not for himself, but for the people of the walls. He was glancing around the yard when he saw Link making his way to the yard, Mikasa not far behind. She walked inside and came out a few minutes later with two swords, separated from ODM Gear.

One by one, each conversation going on in the yard stopped as they saw Link and Mikasa enter the center of the crowd. Some people were gasping as they guessed what was going on.

Eren and Armin looked at each other with fearful looks as Mikasa settled into a stance. Link drew his sword with that satisfying scrape once again, and it echoed across the yard.

Sword in his left hand, and shield in his right. He readied himself. _Don't underestimate her like you did Jean. She won't fall for the same stupid crap that he did. She's rank one for a reason. She's the best of the best. There is no room whatsoever for mistakes._

Murmurs went around the crowd as the rest of them realized what was happening.

"Oh, shit!"

"It's about to go down, isn't it?"

"Someone make the first move! I can't take it anymore!"

"What's going on? I can't see!"

"Sorry, Krista."

Link and Mikasa both stood there, waiting for the other to make the first move. Mikasa already had an advantage, having seen Link fight just minutes before. The crowd thought they were just playing an intimidation game, but in reality, neither of them were sure of how to approach.

Shadis was in his office when he glanced out the window. He saw a strange boy clad in green clothing holding an ornate sword and shield facing someone down. His eyes moved over to his adversary, and then widened. He immediately dashed out of his office and ran outside. As he did so, the fight began. No one knew he was there.

They both ran straight at each other, ready to strike, and grazed each other. They held their positions. A small cut a little larger than the one Jean was sporting appeared on both of their right cheeks. Blood slowly leaked out of both. They turned around to face each other again. The crowd was completely silent.

They charged again, but this time they locked blades. Mikasa's dual swords clashed with Link's own, and he had to use his shield hand to grip his sword. _Man, she's strong! She definitely wasn't fooling around. But I already knew that when I accepted her challenge._ Neither gained the upper hand until Mikasa used more force and shoved him back. She didn't waste a second, pressing her advantage.

Link stumbled just a little from the shove, but it was enough for Mikasa to put him on the defensive. Slice after slice, she went for anyone possible open spots. She mixed up her assault with fake-outs. On more than one occasion, Link would block a single strike of both her swords at the same time, but the force almost made him lose his grip on his shield.

 _He's starting to sweat,_ Mikasa thought. _Good. Now I can try... to catch him off guard!_ She saw her opening, his swing was just _barely_ too wide, and she jumped up into the air. She brought her swords down, and struck his shield yet again. This time, however, the momentum she had from being in the air made him drop his shield. It clattered off to the side, near the crowd. It stopped at someone's feet, and the audience gasped.

 _Shit! My shield! Well, I'm not completely helpless without it. It's not over yet!_ Link thought, still determined. He only panicked for only a brief before regaining his cool. Mikasa rushed him again, thinking she had him cornered without his shield. Link was able to parry her strikes even with only his sword. He began to gather his thoughts as they settled into a rhythm.

 _When she goes in for a heavy attack, she always swings from the right side. Next time, I need to dodge and recover fast enough to counter it._ They were still trading blows, both sometimes poking the other. They had a few tears in their clothing now. Mikasa came in for another heavy strike, and Link was ready. _Now!_

Link did what Mikasa did earlier and jumped up, dodging her strike. He flipped as he came down, and she barely had time to put up a weak block with her swords. They clashed, forged steel clanging. Mikasa's grip was poor due to not having enough time to block, and eventually Link shoved her back, kicked a sword out of her hand, and it went flying. A few soldiers had to dodge it, and it landed tip first in the ground.

Link rushed her as she stumbled and their blades met again. Mikasa was leaning back, eyes wide with fear as he forced her down to the ground slowly. She struggled, legs eventually giving out and she dropped her weapon and fell on her back.

Link pointed his sword at her neck. Mikasa looked down and sighed in defeat.

_I... lost..._

The crowd was silent for what felt like forever. Then they exploded into cheers and applause. They were absolutely dumbfounded.

"Mikasa lost?!"

"What. The. Fuck?!"

"Holy hell, this kid is insane!"

"He beat her..."

"Just a kid..."

"Tch. Whatever." said Jean. Deep down he was mildly afraid of him now. He'd keep his distance from now on. _Show off..._

Shadis stepped forward, after he regained his composure. _That boy... Beat my number one cadet... And I've never even seen him before..._ He approached Link, who was breathing heavily. He sheathed his sword and fetched his shield before the Commandant stopped him. "You. Come with me." he said, garnering the attention of soldiers nearby. They were whispering, but Link couldn't make out what they were saying him. It was probably about him. Most of the crowd dispersed, as it was time for their shifts.

He followed Shadis to his office, and he slowly closed the door behind him.

* * *

Mikasa lay down on her back, breathing heavily. She was caked with dirt and sweat. Slowly, she was eased up by Eren. Armin was sitting on the ground next to her. He looked worried.

"Before either of you ask, I'm fine. Just bruised and tired." she said preemptively. Eren put his hands up in surrender.

"I know. You're supposed to ask _me_ that." he replied, smiling. "So, anyway... What the hell was that about? Did he say something to you? Because I'll pop the little fucker." He rested her head on his lap, and she savored every second of that position.

"It's okay, Eren. It wasn't personal. I asked to fight him. He accepted my challenge... and I lost. That's just how it is." she said, closing her eyes. "If anything... this is a good thing."

"How so?" asked Armin.

"I lost. Which means that there was somebody better than me. Now I know what I need to strive for."

"Alright, let's get up and get you to the clinic. We still have a few hours until lunch, and then our shift starts on the wall."

"Okay." Normally, Mikasa would've protested, saying she's perfectly fine, but this time she didn't. She lost herself in Eren's warmth as her picked her up and carried her, his arms under her knees, back inside.

As they passed by the Commandant's office, the door opened and Link emerged. They caught a glimpse of Shadis, who was looking out his window. The door clicked shut.

"Oh, hey- shit, I didn't hurt her did I?" Link said, a little worried.

"Nah, she's fine. Just needs a little rest, some food, and then she'll be good for our shift. She's tough." assured Eren. "What were you doing in the Commandant's office?"

"He wanted to talk to me after the fight."

Link thought for a moment, then reached to his belt. He grabbed a bottle with green liquid in it and uncorked it. "Here, drink this."

Mikasa opened her mouth and he poured it down, and she coughed and sputtered for a second.

"What the hell was that?" she questioned. Eren put her down so she could stand.

"Green potion," said Link. "Remember? It replenishes your stamina. Take a sip of this red one, too. It'll clear up those bruises." She did so and sure enough, they were gone momentarily.

"I'm going to go bathe, I'll meet you guys for lunch and then head out to the wall with you."

That caught Eren off guard. "Wait, what? Civilians aren't allowed on the wall."

Link chuckled. "You'll see soon enough."

* * *

Link went to his new room, using the key Shadis gave him. He put his belongings down on an unoccupied bed, and saw there were two spaces already taken. _I wonder who's already in here?_

After spending a few minutes trying to operate the shower, he thought about his discussion with Commandant Shadis as he cleaned himself off.

" _You're asking me to join the military, sir? But I'm only eleven." Link said._

" _Not to me, you're not," he said with a gruff voice. He continued. "You demonstrated some of the finest combat skills I've ever seen back there. If we have someone like you one our side, we just might be able to do something about those damn Titans."_

" _But I've never even seen a Titan! I don't even know how to kill them!"_

" _That's easy, just cut out the nape of the neck. It stops their regenerative powers long enough for them to die."_

" _And you're sure about this?" Link asked uncertainly._

" _Absolutely. I'll even personally recommend you to the Survey Corps. They'll listen to my suggestions for sure. Captain Levi might actually like you, too. Don't take that lightly, either. He's a scary son of a bitch."_

_Link thought for a minute. This world is about to lose humanity forever. Maybe I got sent here as a sign, a ray of hope. I shouldn't deny them that._

" _Alright. I'll join them."_

_I'll continue my role as the Hero, and save these people from their untimely demise._

After he got dressed again, the door opened, and Eren and Armin entered the room. They stopped and looked at Link, who froze in his tracks.

"Uh... hi?" Link said shyly.

"What did you do? Why are you in our dorm?"

"Well, Shadis was supposed to announce it at lunch, but..."

"You're joining the military," Armin finished. Link nodded.

"Oh." was all Eren had to say. They made their way back to the mess hall in silence.

* * *

Shadis called everyone to attention, and Link stepped forward. He also saluted, and did it well.

"Attention, everyone! This is Link! He'll be serving under our military, effective immediately! He'll be transferring to the Survey Corps along with the other cadets doing the same! You're dismissed!"

Whispers immediately broke out across the room, as some people were excited to see such a strong person transferred their most dedicated branch, and some were unhappy that he didn't have to do the years of rigorous training. Most people wondered if he even knew how to use ODM Gear.

Link sat down at a table with Eren, Mikasa, and Armin. Mikasa was staring at him, surprised.

"He really let you join?" she asked.

"More like he pressured me... I mean, I kinda wanted to, but he made it seem like it would be the end of humanity if I didn't."

Eren chuckled. "Yep, that's Shadis alright."

"Welcome aboard, Link!" Armin said happily.

"Also, Shadis mentioned someone called uh... Captain Levi? Who's that?"

"Don't tell him," Eren said. He smirked at Link. "He'll find out soon enough".

Link studied Mikasa while the four of them ate lunch.

_Those potions worked on her instantly._

* * *

_Information Available for Public Disclosure_

Omni-Directional Mobility Gear (ODM Gear) is a device that is capable of propelling a human through the air at very fast speeds, by use of momentum. Steel cables are fired from a gas powered device on the back of the person wearing it. The gear is secured to the wearer using a multitude of straps ad buckles to ensure balance. The cables are fired via triggers located on the handles of the dual swords, capable of rending Titan flesh, which are attached to the gear. Extended training is required to master using this gear.

Rupees are the currency used in Hyrule Kingdom and Termina. They look like small, pointy oval-shaped gems. It is universal, meaning every civilization uses them. Their values are color coded. Green = 1, Blue = 5, Yellow = 10, Red = 20, Purple = 50, Bronze = 100, Silver = 200, and Gold = 300. The wallets people carry in these lands are like satchels.

Link's Gilded Sword is a masterfully crafted one-handed sword. It was made at the Mountain Smithy on Snowhead by first sharpening his short and dull Kokiri Sword to become the twice as powerful but less durable Razor Sword, then reforged and reinforced with gold dust to become even sharper, and incredibly durable. The blade is a combination of the nearly indestructible Goron Steel, and the rare gold dust. It is unconventionally shaped like a slim hourglass. It probably won't break during Link's lifetime.

Link's Hero's Shield is a metal shield that was gifted to him by Princess Zelda of Hyrule upon him leaving to search for his friend. As someone who traveled a lot, his puny wooden Deku Shield would not be enough. It is purely composed of Goron Steel.

Deku Nuts are found by defeating Deku Babas found in the woodlands of Hyrule. When thrown, they emit a flash that blinds all who see it for a brief period of time.

Goron Specialty: Bombs – These explosives are crafted and sold by the mountain dwelling Goron tribe. They are people made of rocks, and eat rocks to survive. The bombs they make are always in high demand to Hyrule because of their destructive power and artillery.

Goron Specialty: Goron Steel \- This pure metal is considered indestructible since there is nothing harder or proven to be able to break it. The melting point is higher than lava, so the Gorons have special furnaces to melt it. They are also master smithies, and craft their own weapons. Luckily, the Gorons that harvest this metal live on a mountain where this metal is abundant. It's their most famous trade.

 **(A/N: Think of Goron Steel as vibranium, the same metal the Captain America's shield is made of**. **I also said that it's a pure metal, and since steel is an alloy, this just isn't the case for Goron Steel. This term was coined in Breath of the Wild, and I decided to expand on it.**

* * *

**Okay, so that went on waaaay longer than I thought it would. I had way too much fun writing this chapter. I'm even cutting it short, I wanted to end this one the same way the actual episode did, with the wall being breached. Also, these were my first fight scenes, so let me know how they turned out? I was afraid it'd be really hard, and it kinda was, but I just had to play the battles in my head in real-time. I also made them completely from scratch, so sorry if they were on the short side. I had fun writing Link describing his travels to Armin, as he always obsessed about that stuff. Also, PLEASE don't be afraid to notify me of any typos, or words that look like are missing. I will fix them right away! Anyway, see you next chapter!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT 3/4/20:
> 
> -Corrected typos.
> 
> -Edited the Gilded Sword description to paint readers a better picture of what it looks like.
> 
> -Added Goron Steel to the information.


	4. The Battle for Trost (2) - First Battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, and welcome back to Heroes and Titans! I want to start off by saying that I now have someone to proofread my content and get external thoughts before I upload said chapter, so there should be less typos and better usage of words and phrases. He's a more talented reader than I, so it'll be good to get his insight. Without further ado, let's get into it!

_**ACT I: The Battle for Trost** _

_Chapter 2: First Battle_

* * *

_Trost District Gate, 11:13 A.M._

"Heads up! The main unit of the Scout Regiment is back!" A citizen shouted.

A group of carriages let by horses made it's way through town. Atop the other horses, were soldiers wearing green cloaks over their military uniforms. A man with short blond hair and a serious face rode at the front of them. People moved out of the streets so they could pass.

"That's right, Commander Erwin! Did ya give those ugly bastards a thrashing?" Another asked.

Eren, Mikasa, Armin, and Link were in the crowd headed to the wall for their shifts, along with a few other soldiers. They stopped to watch them.

"Look! It's Captain Levi!" Someone said. Their attention immediately shifted to the man in question, who was in the center of his squad. He had short, straight black hair in an undercut, and his dull blue eyes pierced your very soul. "They say he's like an entire brigade by himself!" The citizen finished.

"Tch. Spare me, please," Levi said, unimpressed.

Eren and his three friends were watching in slight awe as they passed. "Feel how excited everyone is?" He said while smiling. "It's like the crowd just has a different energy now."

"Well, we are going on five years without incident! Seems like a good omen." A girl with red hair and freckles behind him said.

The taller boy next to her with a buzz cut spoke up. "And you should check out all the cannon upgrades, the sight alone oughta be enough to scare 'em off!"

"That's the truth!" The girl replied back.

Eren turned around to face them. "You in denial cause you're a couple?! What's that about?" Armin laughed quietly.

The girl blushed and turned away, waving her hand at him. "Whoa whoa whoa! This isn't what it looks like, okay?" She said.

The the boy blushed as well. "Knock it off man, it's embarrassing!" He said, while covering his face.

They were interrupted when a familiar face walked up to them. Link didn't recognize him at all.

"Hey hey, looky here!" Another blond man said. He also wore a military uniform, but had two roses where the crossed swords would normally be. He had a small smirk on his face as he strode up to them.

Eren and Armin gasped in surprise at his arrival. "Mr. Hannes?" Eren asked.

Hannes looked at Link. "Who's the kid? New friend of yours?" He asked curiously.

"Hey," Link said. "I'm Link." He extended out his hand, and Hannes took it.

After they shook, he spoke again. "Weird name, Link, but nice to meet ya all the same. You've got a nice firm handshake, too. Anyway, any friend of these three is a friend of mine." He turned back to Eren.

"Word on the street is they let you graduate yesterday. Either you've grown up, or standards have plummeted." He joked.

"Oh yeah, like you're one to talk. The corps of engineers keep their new chief in the drink?"

Hannes reached out and gave his forehead a light smack. "Watch it," he said in mock warning. He suddenly straightened and his face took a serious look.

"I'm sorry if this is out of the blue, but I want you to know you're mom's death still haunts me." He said solemnly.

Eren was a little taken aback, but quickly wiped the surprise off his face. "Me too, but it wasn't your fault." He said back, making Hannes widen his eyes.

Eren continued, his gaze getting more intense with every sentence. "We were shooting in the dark then. But nothing like that's gonna happen again. We know what we're dealing with now." Eren started to run off and Link followed.

_Fired up and capable make a good combination, kid. Don't screw it up by dyin'._

* * *

Atop the wall, the newly graduated soldiers performed maintenance on various objects. They prepared the cannons, and moved crates of ammunition and supplies into place.

"What?! The hell you mean you're joining the Scouts?!" Eren said to Connie incredulously. "What happened to the MP? That was your whole thing!"

Connie was scrubbing a cannon. "Don't worry about it. A guy's allowed to change his mind, okay?" He said without turning away from his chore.

A girl with fair skin and dark hair approached from behind, hands behind her back. "I think your speech yesterday lit a fire under him," she suggested.

"Huh?" Eren said, a little confused.

"Ain't nobody talkin' to you! His temper tantrum had nothing to do with it!" Connie defended, turning around, face heating up. He turned back to his work after a second. Link just watched, having already finished his portion of the work.

"Take it easy," a fourth voice said. Thomas approached from the other side of Connie. "it's not like you're the only one." He scratched his cheek nervously. The soldier behind him thought he was insane.

"What?" Eren asked. "Are you serious?"

Before anyone could respond, another soldier came up. "Can you guys keep a secret?" Sasha asked them. Her eyes were lidded and cheeks red. "Cause I totally just helped myself to the officer's pantry!" She pulled a piece of meat with a rope tied around it from her jacket.

Everyone else present gasped, with scared looks on their faces. Not only did she steal from the officer's pantry, but she stole _meat_. Since most of the livestock was within Wall Maria, meat became a rarity saved for special occasions, and nobles.

"Sasha! They could throw your butt in the clink for that!" Eren warned her.

"Seriously, what is wrong with you?" The boy next to Thomas said.

"What isn't wrong with her..." Connie said as Sasha drooled, thinking about the juicy meat.

"It'll be fine... I'm willing to share..." She said, her voice a little breathy. "Oh... could you imagine the sandwiches?" She started to shiver in delight.

"Put it back!"

"Yeah! Do you have any idea how rare meat's been since the Titans took Wall Maria?"

This surprised Link. _Wait, meat is rare for them? That really sucks._

"Um, little bit, yeah," Sasha replied.

She stepped forward, opening a crate to store it in for later. "Just look at it this way. Pretty soon, we'll take back all the room we need for livestock."

One of them, whose name was Samuel Jackson, inhaled slowly, as if about to make a decision he might regret later. "I would really like a slice, please!" He said with his eyes closed.

"Hey, if he gets one, so do I!" Connie stated. "Just so you know..." He trailed off.

Eren didn't know what to do or say. "Uh..."

"Me too!" The girl named Mina Carolina beside him said.

"But..." Eren started.

"Come on! Don't just stand there," Samuel said to him. "if they see us slackin' off, we're in for it."

"See you guys at lunchtime!" Mina waved as she walked away.

Eren made a fist as he stared out over the Trost District. Link walked up to his side as he did so. "Something the matter, Eren?" He asked.

He continued gazing over the city. "Nah, it's just... Has it really been five years?"

"Based off what I heard from Armin, that's a 'yes' from me." Link said.

"I mean, look at us. Ready to stand tall again... We can do it." Eren said, steeling his resolve. _Mankind didn't start this fight... but we're gonna finish it._

The wind suddenly changed direction. Instead of blowing toward the city, it was blowing to the south. Link's instincts told him something felt off. It was eerily silent.

Their entire section of the wall was lit up by a bright flash of yellow as lightning struck directly behind Eren and Link, from the other side of the wall. In a huge explosion of steam, a giant Titan appeared, leering directly at the soldiers. They all stared in silent horror, having still not yet processed what just happened. Then all of their eyes collectively widened.

Eren gasped as the wall exploded, sending all of the soldiers and huge chunks of stone flying in all directions. The wooden barricades at the foot of the wall were blown away by the debris and steam.

"It's hot!" He shouted, as he fired his ODM Gear's cables and slid partway down the wall. When he stopped, he looked back up. The others did the same. He watched Link pull the golden object from his belt, and it fired a chain, penetrating the wall. _So that's what that does._ Connie glanced to the side and saw a soldier falling, his blood raining down with him.

"Samuel!" He cried out.

Sasha retracted her cables and let herself fall down after him, and Mina shouted her name.

As Sasha got closer to the plummeting Samuel, she started to run down the wall, firing a cable up to the wall again to anchor herself, and one straight down to catch Samuel in the calf. Despite this, he still didn't cry out in pain.

"That was to damn close," said Eren.

"Where's Link?" Sasha yelled. "He doesn't have any ODM gear!"

"Don't worry, I'm fine! I have a tool of my own." He was standing on the wall like them, a chain extending from the golden object in his hand. She followed it up to the point that dug into the wall. _Huh, just like our gear. What a strange contraption._

"What even is that?" Eren shouted at him.

"A hookshot. It's very similar to your guys' gear." He informed. "But more on that later! What the hell happened? Was that the Colossal Titan?" He asked.

"Yeah," Eren said disdainfully. "Looks like he's back for round two." He finished darkly.

They all looked at the wall in horror. A large hole was now present, more than big enough for Titans to squeeze through.

"Oh, God no..." whispered Thomas. Connie's eyes were extra wide. "Not again..." A bunch of the houses near the hole were already blown to ruins, and large chunks of the wall were scattered everywhere.

"They're gonna get in... They're gonna get in... They're gonna get in!" Connie shrieked.

Eren still couldn't believe what just happened. He had a flashback of his mother getting picked up by a Titan all those years ago. "No..." he said. "this is over..."

" _I'm gonna put a stop to this!" A young Eren declared in anger, tears spilling from his eyes._ He snapped back to reality. "I will... This ends now..."

"This is it, people!" He shouted, getting their attention. "Do or die!" He started maneuvering up the wall. "Mounted cannon squad form! Take out the Colossal Titan! This is our chance! Don't let it slip away!" He spun around as he flew to the top, landing expertly on his feet. He slowly glared up at the giant beast before him.

"You..." He said as he stared it down. "It's been a while..."

Eren charged.

* * *

Still steaming, the Colossal Titan swung it's hand up high, and brought it across the top of the wall in a sweeping motion. Before it could hit him, Eren managed to leap over it with a grunt. More dust, debris, and cannons went flying as they were destroyed in one fell swoop.

Eren used his gear to fly up and circle around the back of the Titan. _Son of a bitch... he took out the cannons!_ _The gate was no accident then... He planned it. He has intelligence!_ The Titan in question glanced at him slowly, it's teeth visible despite it's mouth being closed, due to lack of skin. It tried to grab Eren, but he dodged and grappled onto it's arm.

 _All the more reason to not waste this moment!_ He looped around the giant arm, landed on it, and began sprinting up it. _Without him, the other Titans have nothing!_ _I've gotta take him down!_ It tried to shake him off, but he flew around his shoulder and up high behind it's neck.

 _Damn it!_ With another loud grunt, Eren went in for the kill. His swords were about to rend the flesh on the Colossal Titan's neck. _Take this!_

Before he could land the killing blow, the Titan seemed to notice his plan. Link assumed it was about to do some kind of attack. "Eren, wait!" He didn't seem to hear him.

As a defense mechanism, it released a huge cloud of steam from it's body and tried to blow Eren away. His gear remained where he shot it, and he started pulling himself in, despite the dangerous situation. With a war cry, he pushed forward, and brought his swords down.

They only met air.

As the steam cleared, Eren saw that the Colossal Titan had disappeared from sight completely.

 _How did I miss?_ He thought to himself, a little shocked. He fired his cables and landed on the wall. _What the... Did he just vanish into thin air?_

Thomas peered down over the wall at him. "Eren, where'd he go?! Did he get away, or did you take him out?!" He shouted down to him.

"He's gone! Exactly like five years ago! He's here one moment... then gone the next! Just like that!" Eren made his way back up the wall, along with Connie.

"I'm sorry, I-" Eren started.

"Don't apologize," Thomas interrupted. "Look at us, we were too scared to move."

"Hey!" Connie shouted. "Wallow on your own time! In case you hadn't noticed, there's been a breach. We have to act now! If they start pouring in, that's it."

The sound of cables caught their attention and they turned around. "Look alive!" A Garrison officer said as he landed in front of them. "Operation Colossal Titan Response is in effect! I expect you to take part! Report to HQ!" He said as they saluted. "If you got close to the damn thing, we need details!"

"Sir!" Eren said.

"Sir!" Connie repeated. "We pray the advance team will be victorious!" The Garrison soldier ran and jumped off the wall.

A bell rang in the distance, alerting the people of Trost that the wall had been breached. People panicked as they ran through the streets.

* * *

_Trost District, 2:28 P.M._

Embers and cinders were already sprinkling in the air from the nearby destruction of the wall. A girl being carried dropped her doll on the ground, never to hold it again.

A Garrison soldier addressed the civilians at the gate. "Pair down! Only take what you need to survive! File through as calmly as possible!"

A squad of Garrison soldiers were atop the wall, making final preparations for defense, as an officer gave them orders. "You understand what we're facing! If they get through, we'll have a repeat of five years ago! Consider the last line of defense! The Titans get held off here, or nowhere! Prepare to intercept!"

A soldier adjusted a cannon's aim as another prepared to fire it. When he was done, he checked the angle, and backed away. "Fire!" The officer shouted. A soldier pulled the rope, and the cannon blasted it's shot. Numerous others fired as well.

"Soldiers, charge!" They did as instructed, leaping from the safety of the walls to engage their adversaries, letting out war cries when they jumped.

* * *

In the barracks, another Garrison officer gave orders to the cadets. "Out of the frying pan, and into the fire, cadets! Time to put your training to work! I have faith, each of you will be a credit to your regiment!" He shouted as they ran around the supply room.

The boy with the buzz and blonde girl Eren accused of being a couple embraced each other. "I promise, we'll get through this." The boy reassured. "You're safe as long as I'm beside you."

"Franz..." The girl said as she leaned into him. Mikasa ran past the from behind, stopping to glance at them for a second, then continued running.

She stopped when she heard Eren's voice. "Armin, what's wrong?" The terrified blond's entire body was trembling as he failed to prepare the gas canisters for his ODM gear.

"I... Don't worry, I'm fine," he said unconvincingly. "Just give me a second for my nerves to settle. This is bad, isn't it? There's a hole in the wall eight meters wide, and we don't even remotely have the engineering know-how to plug it! That huge boulder near the front gate was our best bet." His breath shook, "But we couldn't figure out how to hoist it in place!"

His two gas canisters clinked in his hands. "Unless we seal the breach, the entire city's as good as dead!"

He continued. "How long do you think before they take Wall Rose? Seriously?! How long?! Think about it, any time the mood strikes them they could wipe out the human race in an afternoon!"

Eren grabbed Armin's arm forcefully, and he gasped. "Armin! Listen to me! You're focused on the past. Look ahead. We're not gonna be the victims anymore!" He stopped vibrating instantly. Mikasa watched from behind, sweat starting to form on her face.

Armin's voice was a low whisper. "S-sorry, I... I'm okay." Link ran up to them, hookshot in hand. He looked ready to fight.

"What's the plan?" He asked.

Mikasa turned quickly, startled by his sudden appearance. "Link? How'd you make it off the wall? When I saw the wall literally _explode_ , I thought for sure you'd have fallen to your death." She said worried.

"Trust me when I say this, but it takes a lot more than _that_ to kill me. Plus, I had my hookshot, so I'll be fine out there." She looked at him, confused. Before she could ask, Link held up the object in question. It only confused her more. "It's like your guy's gear. I can grapple around on this thing." She nodded, still slightly puzzled.

Eren turned to him. "Anyway, the plan is to go outside and get our orders. Everyone else is ready, so let's head out!" He pulled Armin up, and they made their way out to the yard. They lined up in the block.

"I want everyone split into four squadrons, as practiced!" A strained, but commanding voice said. "All squadrons are responsible for supply running, message relay, and enemy combat under the command of the Garrison Regiment! The inner south squadron will be taking the Vanguard! Cadets will be taking the Middle Guard, led by the support squad! Rear Guard will go to the elites!"

I expect you all to man your posts, knowing the advance team has been wiped out!" Many soldiers gasped in shock, and whispers broke out among them. "That's right! The outer gate is history! The Titans are _in!_ This means the Armored Titan is likely to reappear! If, and when he does, the inner gate will also be history!" The cadets were visibly shaken and full of doubt, with some ready to burst into tears.

"Is this real?" One whispered.

"Please, be a dream." Thomas said.

"God, what if the bastards manage to bust through Wall Rose?"

"Quiet!" the officer shouted. They snapped back into silence. "Right! Those of the Vanguard be ready! The whole area is well nigh saturated! Your mission is a very simple one: Defend the wall until the evacuation's done!"

"Now, be aware, all of you that desertion is punishable by execution! If it comes to it, _lay down your lives!_ Dismissed!" He finished.

" _Sir!_ " All of the cadets shouted and saluted in perfect unison. They began forming up in their squads.

Jean held his face in a hand. "Ugh, why'd this have to happen now? Just one more day and I'd have been heading for the Interior..."

A soldier nearby vomited on the ground as Krista comforted him. "You gonna be alright?" Her high pitched voice squeaked as she rubbed his back. He brought his head up before suddenly vomiting again.

Jean snapped out of whatever funk he was in and his face hardened in anger. He stomped forward with his eyes closed, and bumped into his least favorite person.

"Move it." He said, shoving Eren to the side before walking ahead. Eren grabbed his arm.

"What the hell, man? What's wrong with you?" He asked, a little annoyed.

"What kinda question is that? We're all about to be Titan chow, you expect me to sing you a happy little song?" He grabbed Eren's collar and pulled him to his face. Mikasa and Link turned around when they heard the commotion.

"Of course you are! Your whole life's aspiration is to be eaten!" Jean shouted. Mikasa and Link made their way toward them. "I was one day shy of shipping off to the MP!"

"Jean get a hold-" Eren started.

"No!" He interrupted. "Not all of us are suicidal!"

"Damn it!" Eren shoved him against the wall. "Shut up for a second! We're trained for this! What do you think the last three years were about?" Jean stared back wide-eyed. Link and Mikasa just watched.

"We survived... We stared death in the face and we lived. Not everyone can say that, can they? Some people couldn't take it, either ran or were thrown out. Hell, some people actually died! But not us! Am I right? We powered through for three years, what's one more day? You can do this, Jean, alright? The MP will still be waiting for you tomorrow." Eren backed away. Jean was still shocked.

"Shit." He muttered, then walked away. "On your feet, Daz. Stop bawling!"

"O-okay..." He replied, starting to calm down.

Mikasa approached Eren. "Eren, if things take a turn for the worse, I want you to come find me, alright?"

"What? We're in completely different squads!" He retorted.

"Look, this is gonna get ugly, and when it does, the plan goes out the window. Come and fine me so I can protect you." She was starting to look a little desperate. Link watched, observing quietly.

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Ackerman!" An officer said. "You're with me. You've been assigned to the rear guard on special orders." His gaze moved to the boy in green.

Mikasa was surprised by this information. "But sir, I-I'm a cadet! I'll slow everyone down!"

"What?" Eren whispered to her.

The officer continued to watch her. "You're not being asked for a self-evaluation here. The mass exodus is falling apart. We need as many elite soldiers as possible to get things back on track."

"Sir, with all due respect-" Eren headbutted her, and she held her forehead in pain.

"Hey! You've been given a direct order. Pull it together, now! This is bigger than the two of us, and you know it! We're on the verge of extinction here, have some damn perspective!" Eren stared at her with fury, and Mikasa looked like she was about to cry.

Link decided to intervene before it got worse, and feelings got hurt. "Mikasa, he's right. Don't be so worried about him. I'm sure he can handle himself, and he has his whole squad to look after him." Eren smiled at the defense, but then Link turned to him.

"As for you," he slapped Eren across the face. "she only cares about you. Don't be such an ass." He thought of when Malon told him to stay at the ranch, all that time ago. Link had just returned from Death Mountain, all burned and scratched up. She begged him to stay and heal longer, and Gods he wanted to, but he had an incredibly important mission ahead of him.

"I've been in your situation before. You can't help how people feel, and you certainly can't just tell them not to worry. It only makes things worse. You should take you're own advice about perspective." Mikasa silently thanked him for his words, and Eren was about to respond before the officer looked at Link.

"And you must be Link. You'll be coming with us, too." He ordered.

"What? Why?" Link was very confused.

"News spreads fast. Especially when that news includes an 11-year-old kid beating our top recruit. Also, you're in the military now, so that was an order."

As the officer walked away, Eren was still rubbing his face. "Sorry if I smacked you too hard," Link apologized.

"Nah, it's alright. I deserved it." He said shamefully.

Mikasa grabbed Eren's shirt sleeve lightly. Her gaze was downcast.

"Just promise... promise me one thing." She said. "Whatever happens, don't get yourself killed." Eren waited for a second before yanking his arm away from her. Link observed Mikasa as she sadly watched Eren leave her. He sighed.

"Man, he's denser than a Goron." He whispered, shaking his head.

Eren walked away slowly. _I hadn't planned on it, thanks. No! I won't allow myself to get killed. Not until I taste what life is like outside these god-forsaken walls._

* * *

His mind showed him a flashback from the classroom.

_A teacher was giving a lecture."What surviving historical documents we have access to tell us nothing of the Titans' origin. Almost everything about them is obscure. Now, that isn't to suggest we're completely ignorant. Thanks to the efforts of the Scout Regiment, we do know something of their ecology. Whether Titans possess human-like intelligence is up for debate, of course. And to date, there have been no reports of high-level communication between them. We do know that Titan physiology is fundamentally different than most organic life. As the lack reproductive organs, it's unclear how they reproduce."_

" _Apart from this, to all appearances, their physique resembles the average human male. We also know their body temperatures run quite high. And baffling though it is, their appetite seems geared exclusively towards human beings. In fact, a Titan's driving principle seems to be this appetite. Given that they've subsisted for over a century without their only source of nourishment however, we surmise that these creatures do not in fact consume us to live. Let that sink in."_

_Eren's eyes were wide as he listened."Titans aren't motivated by hunger as such. They're simply in it for the kill. The teacher continued. "The terrifying vitality of these creatures is beyond scientific dispute; we have only to consider events of the recent past to see this. Mankind has long possessed cannon technology as you're aware. But that alone proved tragically insufficient. Even with their head blown to bits, the Titans still persist. Though there is some variability on this score, a Titan's head usually regenerates within two minutes." Most of the students were shocked._

" _Is that true?"_

" _As if their size wasn't frightening enough..."_

" _Excuse me, sir!" A student raised his hand. "Are you basically saying that the Titans are immortal?" He asked nervously._

_The teacher was drawing a diagram on the chalkboard. "No, I'm not." He revealed the contents of the board to the class, which was a Titan, it's back to them. "There is in fact one way to ensure death." He drew a circle on the nape of the Titan's neck. "Strike here. If the back of their neck takes adequate damage, a Titan will not regenerate. This is the chink in the proverbial armor."_

_He looked to the desk next to him, which held two identical swords. Their handles had triggers on them. "That as you may have surmised, is where the flesh-pairing blades you see here come in." He began writing on the board again. "A good, deep strike with one of these to a Titan's weak spot, and the monster is left no time to regenerate. They die and stay dead." He finished._

"Look at it this way, Armin." Armin looked over at Eren. They were standing on a rooftop, looking over the Trost District. "It's a golden opportunity. I mean, if we prove our worth as soldiers right here, we'll rise up right through the ranks. Before long, we could even be leading our own regiment! We can bypass rookie status altogether." He grinned.

The wind ruffled Armin's hair as he thought of a response. "Sounds good." He said, smirking back at his friend. "I'm with you all the way."

"Now now, boys," Mina piped up from behind. "you're not the only ones in your class. Save some of the glory for the rest of us!"

"Good luck beatin' us to the punch a second time, Eren." Said Thomas. "No head-starts for you this round." He said confidently.

"Is that a challenge?" Asked Eren.

"Listen up," Thomas addressed everyone. "whoever kills the most Titans gets bragging rights."

"Heh. Better not fudge your scores," Eren said smugly.

A soldier with a telescope signaled the cadet next to him. "Squadron 34, move out! The Vanguard needs support!" The other yelled.

"Right!" Eren said. "Give 'em hell!"

All of Squadron 34 let out war cries as they began to sprint across the rooftops, then switching to their ODM Gear. They were in Titan territory now.

Cables fired, met stone buildings, and the cadets flew toward the action. As they drew closer, Eren caught a glimpse over a building, and saw several Titans roaming around the city.

"There are so many of them!" Said Mina.

"The Vanguard's been completely overwhelmed." Thomas replied.

"I don't believe this," a cadet said. "those guys always talked so big."

 _I thought things would be hairy..._ Eren thought to himself. _But this? This is insane._ He caught sight of a Titan crouched on all fours on a roof, staring straight at them, as if waiting for them.

"We've got an abnormal!" Eren shouted to his squad. "Pull back!"

The abnormal Titan jump off the building when they got close, looking to catch it's prey. It went right through their squad, and crashed into the building behind them. The cadets landed on a rooftop, Armin barely landing, and Eren grabbing the edge while hanging. The Titan was hugging the building, all four limbs wrapped around it.

When it peered around from the other side, the cadets stared back in horrified silence.

Someone was missing.

Thomas lay in the Titan's mouth, legs first. He was shaking as he barely tried to pull himself out, too scared to really try.

He coughed lightly. "Oh my God..." he whispered to himself, not that anyone could hear him from the rooftop. "Please... help me..."

The cadets watched as the Titan tilted it's head back and swallowed Thomas whole, slipping right down it's throat.

Anger boiled in Eren's blood as he gritted his teeth, soon turning into a burning rage hotter than a thousand suns. "You bastard!" He shouted so loud his voice cracked, as he flung himself off the roof after the Titan.

"Eren!" Armin yelled after him. He wanted to follow him so badly, but another cadet addressed him.

"Wait! Stay with the group!" He shouted. Armin took off after Eren anyway, Mina and the rest in tow behind him.

"Get back here!" Eren yelled after the Titan, as he swung from building to building. "You're gonna pay for killing my friend! You're not getting away... You're not getting away!" He readied his swords, and went to strike.

He would've gotten his revenge, if another Titan hadn't popped it's head up underneath Eren and bit off his leg midair. He was sent skipping cross several rooftops, bouncing to each one. He landed on his stomach as he skidded to a stop.

"Eren!" Armin yelled again.

"Oh God no..." Mina said.

The cadet next to her got snatched out of the air into a Titan's grip and squished to death instantly. Another grabbed Mina's cable and stopped her forward momentum suddenly, the cable leading her right into a wall. She smashed into it with her back, letting out a pained cry as she did. She was too stunned to see the Titan glaring at her with an angry expression.

A cadet screamed as a Titan had grabbed him by the legs. "Don't! Please don't!" Armin could only watch as he pleaded for his life, his legs made of jelly. "I don't want to die!" The cadet said as he was made into that Titans lunch.

Armin collapsed to his knees, looking at Eren who was laying on his stomach across the street on another roof. He was knocked out, and had a bloody stump that used to be his leg. He also had red splattered on and near his head. He more than likely had a concussion, if he was even still alive.

Armin could barely breath. _Why... why... My friends are being devoured, and all I can do is watch..._ His eyes snapped up at the sound of rumbling footsteps.

A Titan with a full beard grabbed him by the back of his jacket.

_What's wrong with me? Why can't I move?_

The Titan opened it's jaws, and dropped Armin in without biting. He screamed as he slipped down its slimy tongue.

Eren had begun stirring again. _No... Armin..._

" _Eren..." A young boy's voice called. "Eren!" It called again. "Eren!" It yelled, trying to get his attention. Armin ran up to him, holding a large book in both his hands._

_Eren looked up at the sky. "Ugh, why are you shouting?" He asked, mildly annoyed._

" _Sorry... I found a book my grandpa keeps hidden away! Believe it or not, it's about life on the outside!"_

_Eren looked up at him. "I really hope this is your idea of a joke. Stuff about the outside world is illegal. Seriously, you could go to jail for that."_

_Armin crouched down next to him, a big smile on his face."Trust me, you'd change your mind if you knew what was actually out there! For example, according to this book, most of the world is covered in salty water so deep you can't reach the bottom!" He said excitedly._

" _There's a name for it, too. They call it the sea." Armin finished._

" _Like salty for real?" Eren asked in disbelief. "Come on, you're making it up. If something valuable like salt was just floating around under water, merchants would've scooped it out ages ago."_

" _That's the thing, the sea never runs out! It's that big!"_

_Eren still didn't believe him. "Yeah, whatever." Armin wasn't giving up yet._

" _Just bear with me. There's a lot more than salt! Water that glows like fire... fields of ice... giant rocks that take days to climb! Imagine how huge the outside world must be." He said, filled with hope._

" _It does sound really neat..." Eren said. Armin looked up at him._

" _Okay, you've got to promise on your life not to tell anyone... but my parents are, uh, they're going to sneak outside the walls to see for themselves." Armin whispered to him._

_Eren stared at the book, eyes wide and hopeful. "They'll know what it's like firsthand..."_

" _Look at me," Armin started. "we should do it ourselves one day..." His eyes were sparkling. "We could have adventures like the guy who wrote this book!"_

Eren's eyes flew open, and he forced himself to his... foot. He jumped into the Titan's mouth, grabbing Armin's wrist, and holding the mouth open with his other hand.

With a grunt and a cry, he threw Armin out of the mouth and onto a roof using his adrenaline.

"Eren!" Armin shouted back as he saw him standing in the jaws of the Titan, struggling to keep them open.

"I refuse to die like this, understand?" He stated in a low voice. _Armin, listen..._ He stuck his free arm out to him. _We're still going to the outside world... The things you told me about..._ _I have to see them... I have to..._

Tears were streaming from Armin's eyes as he moved forward to grab Eren's hand. "Eren! No!" He shrieked.

Large yellow-tinted teeth slammed down in front of him, and Eren's left arm went flying past him, severed from his body.

Armin let out a devastated and blood-curdling scream.

Off in the distance, away from the action, Mikasa turned around to face the smoke.

_I can't shake the feeling something's happened to Eren._

* * *

Armin's vision was blurry as Connie shook him. "Wake up! Armin! Hey! Can ya hear me? Come on! Snap out of it! I need you to talk to me! Say something!"

"There you are." Connie said, relieved. You with me now? What's going on?"

"Where's your squad?" He asked Armin.

"Squad..." he said, mostly to himself, voice barely a whisper.

"Alright, let's get you on your feet. You shouldn't be out here alone. What the hell you got all over you that's so damn slimy?" Connie asked, inspecting his hand after touching Armin's shoulder. "What happened?"

Armin gasped as the recent tragic events flooded his memory. It hit him like a truck, and he let out a distraught scream.

"You're worthless!" He started, gripping at his own head. "Why can't you just die?!"

"Hey, you need to pull yourself together!" Connie said.

"Damn you!" Armin yelled to himself, ignoring his friend.

"Where is everyone?" Connie asked, and Armin stopped, his tears leaking.

"Let it go, Connie," a female voice said. "he's it. The rest of 'em are dead."

"Damn it, don't talk like that!" Connie replied to her. "We can't assume he's the only one!"

"Take a look around you, isn't it obvious?" she started. "We can't waste anymore time here with him. We've gotta move on."

"You're not making any sense, why would the Titans ignore him?"

"I dunno," she answered. "maybe they thought he was already dead, or something. When you get right down to it, that's the real tragedy here. Eren and the others bust their asses, and the one left standing is him."

Connie had heard enough. He wasn't going to stand by and let Ymir shit-talk his friend, especially after he'd supposedly lot his entire squad. "Alright, that does it, bitch." he said coldly. "I'm gonna shut your mouth up, permanently!"

A tiny blonde girl ran in between them. "Both up of you stop it, right now! Look, we're all at the end of our tether, okay? We're seeing our friends being killed like animals... It's normal to be upset."

The girl from before put her arm around the blonde. "Look at my Krista, keepin' the peace! You are _so_ gonna have to marry me when all this crap is over." Ymir proudly stated, laughing. It was quite the sudden change in demeanor.

"Yeah, well..." Connie started. "she'd best get a hold of that mouth." Connie said bitterly. He turned back down to Armin.

"Alright, come on. We gotta get outta here. Are you able to stand?" He held his hand out to Armin.

He stood on his own after a few seconds. "Sorry to be a nuisance. Don't worry about me. I'll rendezvous with the Rear Guard." He said, starting to head in that direction.

"But... Armin!" Connie shouted after him. Armin had already used his gear to fly off.

"Connie! Hop to! We've been given orders to advance!"

Armin pondered the recent events, as he flew through the streets. There were corpses, limbs, and blood splattered everywhere. _I was wrong... This world hasn't become Hell... It's been Hell. I just couldn't see it before now. We're condemned... all of us... have been from the beginning._

He thought back to the times he got bullied and beaten up for talking about the outside world. _Strength preys on weakness. It's a very straightforward arrangement, actually. Then... my friends... they... they tried. They knew how the world worked. They wanted to be strong. For me. Someone who only brought them down. In their eyes, I was a victim. I needed protection. But all I wanted, was to stand shoulder to shoulder with them, to be strong like they were... To be worth something..._

Armin's cable hit the stone wrong and bounced off the wall, harmlessly clanging to the ground. He smacked into that same wall and fell to the ground on his bottom. He drew his legs to himself. _And this is how it all ends up... Eren tried to protect me, and..._

His inner thoughts were cut off by someone nearby grunting in effort. Armin turned around and saw Hanna trying to give a collapsed Franz CPR. "Hanna... what are you trying to do?" He asked.

"Oh God, Armin, help me please!" She shrieked. "Franz quit breathing and I can't wake him up! He won't respond to CPR! Come on, baby, you got this!" She said to Franz, though he couldn't hear her. "Stay with me! Somebody help us!" She cried, while looking up to the sky in despair.

"Hanna, please... it's not safe on the ground, we need to get you on a rooftop." Armin said.

"No!" Hanna screamed. "I'm not leaving him like this!" She continued trying to give Franz CPR.

"You really don't understand, do you..." Armin said sadly. "Hanna, I'm sorry, Franz is..." He couldn't bring himself to say it, as she kept trying to will the life back into him. "Please, stop... Please, stop doing that! I can't... I can't take it... This is Hell..."

* * *

_Trost District Gate, 2:50 P.M._

A large crowd of people was gathered around the gate as they evacuated. At least, they tried. There was a large carriage blocking the exit, and no one could leave.

A man was thrown back into the crowd, and someone caught him. "What the hell is wrong with you people?" He said back. "I don't think you fully appreciate how bad the situation is!"

A short and fat, but well dressed man stood behind the carriage. "Oh, I appreciated it just fine, believe me. You wanna make it out of here alive, stop whining and help!" He angrily said back to the crowd. They continued shouting back at him.

A civilian pushed a Garrison soldier up from the crowd. "You're a soldier, do something! Make him move that damn wagon!"

"Uh, not exactly sure I-" he started

"Take your best shot, little man!" the rich man said to him. "I'm the president of this town's merchant guild!"

"Uh... well I-"

"Who do you think pays for all the food you and your buddies crap out?" The man said, getting in the guard's face. "Or maybe you got some finances tucked away to fund the racket you call a 'job'! Now shut up and push! This cargo's worth more than you people make in your whole lives! Nobody's gettin' outta here unless the wagon's in front of them! There's a reward in it if ya help!"

A mother embraced her daughter. "Don't worry, sweetheart. Daddy's gonna use those big loud cannons he showed us to scare the Titans off..." She said reassuringly. She sounded rather unsure herself.

"Mommy, look," the girl said. She pointed behind her. "There!" People turned around as thundering footsteps approached.

A Titan came barreling around the corner and kicked an oblivious person who was walking into the air, and people started screaming.

"Push it through, damn it!" The merchant shouted, his previous anger melted into fear. "If you don't, that thing's gonna kill us all!" The crowd collectively started pushing the wagon through, but to no avail. The Titan drew closer, three soldiers following closely behind it.

"Someone wanna tell me why this son of a bitch is ignoring us?" One of them said.

"It's an abnormal, stop trying to figure 'em out!" another replied.

"He's too fast!" The third said. "There's no way we'll overtake him before he reaches the gate!"

"Just stay on him!" A fourth soldier flew by them, one with no insignia on her jacket. _A trainee?!_

Mikasa sped by them, and her cable latched onto the abnormal's neck. She flew in and secured her kill, landing on it's head and riding it down as it fell. She stood before the crowd at the gate.

She inspected her sword, checking it's durability, before noticing the crowd. "Excuse me... what is all this?"

The merchant spoke up. "Couldn't have asked for better timing!" Force these useless morons to push my wagon! I'll pay you handsomely!" Mikasa stared at him, eyes wide. _Is he serious?_

"Seriously? Soldiers are dying back there! Laying down their lives for you... All because this is taking to long..."

"Yeah, that's their job." The merchant said bitterly. "You expect me to shed a tear because they fulfilled the duties they signed on for? They're supposed to be _willing_ to lay down their lives! Don't get all high-handed on me just cause you finally gotta earn your damn keep after all these years!"

 _Ah, so that's how it is._ Mikasa's face hardened, and she hopped down off the Titan's head. Before she could approach the merchant, however, Link came out of _nowhere_ and stomped up to him, pure rage evident in his expression.

The merchants two guards tried to stop him, but Link smashed his shield into one's head and the hilt of his sword into the other's, knocking them both out.

"Oh, so that's how it is, huh?!" He yelled while walking up. The man started backing away, and Link pointed his golden blade at his neck threateningly. "You think because you have some extra pocket change compared to all these people here, thtat your wealth and status are more important than thousands of lives?"

The merchant stowed his fear and tried to talk down to Link. "Stupid child! Do you realize who you're-"

Link kicked him in the shin, and he doubled over. "Shut up! I don't wanna hear any of that greedy businessman bullshit! I don't care if you're the King! You're endangering the lives of helpless people, and countless soldiers are dying back there, to ensure you can make it out! It's pretty obvious that this wagon isn't gonna make it, so get off your high horse for one day, and _move the fuck out of the way!_ " Link said, sounding the most venomous Mikasa had ever seen him, even in their own fight. It was unnerving. Link raised his sword, and she gasped.

The merchant back up in fear, pressing against his wagon. "No, wait! Please! I'll do anything!" He pleaded. The man's eyes closed in anticipation.

The sword came slashing down, but only met the soft cover of the wagon. The merchant opened his eyes to the sight of the little boy in green, still seething.

"I think I made my point clear," said Link. "Move the damn wagon, and let these people pass." His tone was calm now, but there was no mistaking the white-hot anger in his eyes.

"Sir, maybe we should... uh..." one of the merchant's people started.

"Pull the damn wagon out." He said, defeated.

They did so, and people began filing out of the gate as fast as possible.

Before they could walk away, Link and Mikasa were stopped by the girl and her mother.

"You're amazing!" the girl said to Link. He smiled at her.

"Thanks, but you guys should get out of here. It's not safe here." He replied.

"You saved our lives, mister, but what about you? You don't look military..." She said, a little confused.

"Don't worry about me. I may look small, but I'm helping the military out. I joined today." He saluted to them, and Mikasa did the same. The little girl gave them a giant grin.

As they turned to walk away, it began to rain, dark clouds completely blocking out the sun.

"Good work, Ackerman. You too Link. I'm impressed." A soldier addressed them. "Thanks to you two, the rest of the civilians have been safely evacuated."

"We did what we could here, sir, but thank you. I need to be a bit more careful in the future. I inadvertently dulled both of the blades." She said, observing her swords. She clicked a trigger on the handles, and then clattered to the rooftop they were standing on. "I'll do better next time."

"How about you, Link? Still holding up?" He asked the boy.

"Yep," He said confidently. He flourished his sword. "This baby will be able to cut through pretty much anything for years to come!"

The soldier sighed. "I meant _you_ , Link... How are you holding up, really?" Mikasa eyeballed him from his right.

Link looked down at his boots. "I... I'm fine."

_Link stood next to Mikasa and the rest of the Rear Guard. They were tasked with providing cover for the civilians as they evacuated. The Titans were flooding the area fast, so it was only a matter of time before they found them._

" _So, I'm still technically new here, how do you kill Titans again?" asked Link. Mikasa was still observing the hastily moving townspeople._

" _Their weakness is the nape of their neck. If you cut it out, they won't be able to regenerate anymore, and will die almost instantly." Link absorbed the information like a sponge._

" _Okay," said Link, "anything else I should be made aware of?"_

" _Actually, yes," Mikasa answered, "Be on the lookout for abnormals. You'll be able to tell when you see one. They don't act like the mindless Titans you've heard so much about. They act with a little more purpose. They're also a lot faster."_

_This worried Link. He had never seen one of these creatures before. He told himself to not be nervous, that he'd fought tons of creatures ten time more terrifying and dangerous. He slayed the King of Evil, for Goddesses sake. What was a mindless giant, even if it could regenerate?_

" _Titans incoming from the south!" A soldier shouted in warning. "Prepare to engage!"_

_Link drew his Gilded Sword in his left hand, hookshot in his right, and then he heard the similar sounds of scraping metal behind him. Mikasa was the first to leap into action, followed by Link. The rest of their squad joined them._

_He fired his hookshot, the tip embedding itself in a building in front of him. As he flew forward, he caught sight of the giant creatures in the distance. They looked so dumb and silly._

_Link knew not to underestimate his opponents, now matter what they looked like, so he kept his guard up. He watched as Mikasa claimed the first kill by severing the nape of the first Titan's neck._

_Link's hookshot was approaching the end of it's chain. "Here goes nothing..." he said to himself._

_When he got close enough, Link detached the hook from the wall, and retracted the chain the rest of the way, preparing it to fire again. He flew through the air, and fired again at another building. He silently praised himself._

" _I can't believe that worked. This'll take some getting used to, though."_

_He had seen this "ODM Gear", as they called it, in use before. It was very similar to his hookshot. So, he decided to try and use it like their gear, and it seemed to work so far. Now his only issue was killing Titans._

_The others all had two swords. A pair of blades, capable of rending the tough Titan flesh. Link's sword may have been sharper and more durable, but he only had one. How would he cut out the nape in one go?_

_Link actually already had an answer for this._

_A Titan came his way, and he prepared himself for it's approach. He fired his hookshot to another building, this time veering off from the rest of his squad a bit. He switched his momentum with the hookshot again, burying the end of the chain into the Titan's back. He flew forward, and focused power in his blade. A bright blue energy field appeared around it, and Link made a war cry as he started spinning rapidly toward his target._

_A small explosion sounded not far from the squad, and Link was soon back in formation._

_Mikasa spoke first, surprise in her tone. "What the hell was that, Link?" She asked._

" _A sword technique I learned a while ago. It lets me focus power in my sword, and then release all at once for a powerful strike." He informed._

" _Well, I wouldn't believe it, but since I saw it, I have no choice. Maybe you could teach it to me?" She asked, a tinge of hope in her voice._

_Before Link could respond, another soldier perked up, "What was with the spinning, kid? Trying to look like Captain Levi, eh?" he said with a smug face._

" _I still don't know who that is, but it's simple. I only have one sword, so how else am I gonna kill the Titans? I need multiple slashes, so I figured that neat little trick would help out. And it did."_

_He hummed. "You seem to be managing pretty well out here, kid. 'Specially since you don't have any formal mili-"_

_He was cut off as his cable was abruptly yanked back by an unknown force. Link immediately changed his course to follow him. "No!" He shouted._

_His hookshot fired and latched onto the Titan, and Link flung himself in the direction of the soldier. Link was only halfway when he heard his screams suddenly silence, accompanied by the unpleasant sound of bones crunching. He stared in horror as he landed on a rooftop, stumbling slightly._

_Mikasa landed soon after. "Come on, Link." she said calmly. He just stared at his hands. "Link, let's go, we have a mission."_

" _He's dead... He's just dead. Just like that. Nothing anyone could do. Even me. I was too powerless to do anything. I even reacted right away... And I still wasn't fast enough..." Link said, voice almost breaking. Mikasa was tugging on his arm._

He didn't have time to mourn then, because of that abnormal that was headed straight for the gate. Then he heard the nonsense being spouted by that merchant, and rage had completely overwritten his sorrow. Now it came crashing back to him.

Mikasa rested a hand on his shoulder in a comforting manner. "Don't dwell on it, Link. People die, especially in our situation. Not everyone makes it out alive. We can mourn the dead later." she said.

Her voice was serious, as was her face, but Link could read her. She was suppressing something under that mask, preventing it from surfacing. Link knew exactly how she felt. _Past memories, maybe?_

"Alright, well..." The soldier started. "Just keep it up. The evacuation's almost done, so we'll provide more cover for now. Move out!" He darted off on his gear.

Mikasa nodded to Link, and the two launched forward to continue their mission.

* * *

_Information Available for Public Disclosure_

Abnormal Titans are exactly what they sound like. They deviate from the normal mindless behaviors of regular Titans, in favor of unpredictable movements and target choices. Where a mindless Titan would much rather attack a densely populated area, an Abnormal is capable of singling out a specific target. Their actions are much more deliberate.

Link's Hookshot is a small device that holds a chain coiled on the inside. It has a handle, and the golden shaft of the device is almost triangle shaped, with the top point sliced off. At the end of the shaft, is an incredibly sharp and pointed hook connected to the chain. It's fired by pressing the trigger on the handle. The hook, as well as the chains, are made of the borderline unbreakable Goron Steel. These metal parts undergo so much stress in so little time, they have no choice but to make them from this metal.

The Spin Attack Link uses to kill Titans is a self-taught skill he learned from practicing his swordplay. It's exactly what it sounds like. The user spins around, slashing in all directions. Since Link only has one sword, he uses this technique to be able to cut down a Titan in one pass. In Link's case, however, he uses his own magic power to enhance the power of the strike even further. This results in a small explosion where the target is hit, ensuring the Titan loses it's nape.

* * *

**Here we go! The Battle for Trost is underway, and many casualties have already been suffered. Will our heroes triumph? Or will the Titans seize the Trost District as well? Find out next time on _Heroes and Titans!_**

**I took my time with this chapter, if you couldn't tell. I don't have any sort of schedule, but I'll try my best to get out a chapter every few days, so like once or twice a week.**

**EDIT 3/10/20**

\- Corrected typos.

\- Corrected the definition of Abnormal Titan in the information.

\- Corrected text formatting not saving properly.


	5. The Battle for Trost (3) - God Among Men

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, and welcome back to Heroes and Titans! I'd like to start off by saying that chapters are probably going to start taking a little longer, so that way I can plan better. I'm actually planning on breaking away from canon soon, which is why I'll take my time. It may seem like my writing is good now (Thanks for the lovely reviews!), but I've been more or less making a novelization + Link so far. Don't worry, I will be making this story really my own within the next few chapters.
> 
> A comment I got on AO3 was wondering how Link hasn't affected the plot too much, and my answer is this: Link hasn't even been present in the AoT world for a full 24 hours yet. I've had a few scenes change, and of course added my own, but don't worry, things will change more. This is a crossover after all. Anyway, onward to the next chapter!

_**ACT I: The Battle for Trost** _

_Chapter 3: Unexpected Assistance_

* * *

Heavy rain continued to poor as Mikasa and Link preyed on Titans unfortunate enough to cross their paths. One by one, they dropped to the ground in heaps of steaming flesh. The both of them wore green cloaks to shield them from the rain. They were both on autopilot, absorbed in their own thoughts.

 _The world is a cruel place,_ Mikasa thought. _If you want to live, you have to fight._ She landed on a rooftop after finishing off the last of the Titans in her immediate vicinity.

 _I may have learned and accepted the hard truths of life in Hyrule and Termina, but this world is no different,_ Link pondered. He grunted loudly as he struck down another Titan.

A bell rang, signaling that the evacuation was successful. The inner gate of Trost began to close.

"That's it, we're done. Now scale the wall." A Garrison officer addressed Mikasa as Link landed behind them.

"I should help the Vanguard withdraw, sir." She immediately took off before he could protest.

"Ackerman, wait!"

"Mikasa, what are you doing?" Link yelled after her.

Link looked from her to the soldier, sighed to himself, then took off after her.

"Damn it, Link!" The guard said. He shook his head and started back up the wall.

* * *

_Trost District Barracks, 3:10 P.M._

"Captain, please wait!" A soldier shouted. Three cadets stood in front of four soldiers, and the soldiers had their swords drawn.

"There's only a handful of us left, sir!" The cadet continued. "If the Titans were to attack here in force, we wouldn't have a chance in hell in holding them off!"

"Please, sir!" The middle cadet, a girl, said. "We need you here!"

The captain who originally gave orders to the 104th Cadet Corps before they were sent out into Trost stood before them. He had a nervous expression, and sweat ran down his face.

"Outta my way, soldier. We have to get going. My expertise is needed to help direct the reinforcements.

"Behind the safety of the inner gate, am I right?" Another cadet said, furrowing his brow.

"Just what the hell are you implying?" He asked. "They need my help reorganizing. Or would you rather us be overwhelmed due to a logistical nightmare?!" He shouted, getting more angry with each sentence.

"B-but sir," The girl said. "if we lose those supplies-"

"That's enough!" The captain shouted, drawing his sword. He pointed it at her, and she leaned back in mild fear.

"Question my orders again, or delay me of my duties, and I'll run your treasonous hide straight through!" He was obviously terrified himself.

* * *

_Trost District_

A cable pierced a stone wall, and Mikasa flew up and landed on a roof. She surveyed the area, spotting a group of cadets on a nearby rooftop.

 _Why isn't anyone going over the wall?_ She wondered. _They must've heard the withdrawal signal..._

She glanced over to her left. In the distance, she saw the barracks swarmed with Titans on every side. Mikasa gasped.

Inside the barracks, the supply team had been forced to hide a room toward the top of the building. They erected makeshift barriers with desks to hide from the Titans. It definitely wouldn't stop a Titan, but it could keep them hidden from view.

A girl peeked over the desk she was behind, looking at the window. She was immediately greeted by a pair of large and creepy eyes, and gasped.

"It's over... she whispered to herself. "All over... We're doomed..." She got back down next to the other three recruits, who were all in similar states of despair. All except one.

One of the cadets, a boy, was calmly preparing a gun. A loud crash followed by a guttural roar interrupted everyone's thoughts. Luckily, nothing seemed to have gotten in.

"There," the boy with the rifle said.

"Come on, that musket's not enough to stop them," the girl next to him said.

The cadet put the barrel into his mouth, and the girl paled.

The shot echoed around the room, and blood splattered on the girls face. They all screamed and cried hard.

"Hey Jean! What're we gonna do?" Connie asked him, sounding a little bit fed up.

"We can't _do_ anything," Jean answered. He was sat on a roof with the other cadets, slumped over in defeat. He sighed. "They finally gave us the order to withdraw, and we were all out of gas, of course. I can't believe this is how it's gonna end, because of those damned cowards."

Connie turned to face him. "You mean the supply depot? What is going on? Where are they?" He asked.

"They all lost their will to fight. And I can understand why, but they abandoned their duty to supply us, barricading themselves inside HQ. And of course, Titans have swarmed the place, which means we can't get the gas ourselves." Jean answered again.

Connie only got more frustrated. "Then why are we waitin'?! We gotta go! Start thinning their numbers so we have a chance! Sitting on this roof is totally pointless. Eventually the Titans are gonna come for us! We don't have much gas left, we'll just waste what little we've got if we try to run. And without our mobility, we're completely screwed!" He yelled in frustration.

Jean looked up at him. "You're using your head for once, Connie. Nice going. But I'm just not sure if we've got the numbers needed to pull this thing off. The veterans and the Vanguard force have all been killed."

He looked around at his fellow cadets.

"How exactly do a bunch of rookies pull off a suicide mission like this? I mean, let's assume half of our force even survives the initial assault. Then what? The supply room is probably crawling with Titans in the three or four meter range. I don't see us accomplishing much in there." Jean finished.

Connie stared at him with a look of despair on his face. "It's hopeless," he relented.

"God, what a dull life this turned out to be... I never even got to tell her just how I feel." Jean said to himself.

"Come on guys, we can do it!" Sasha called from the side. "Right? Let's go! If we all work together, we can make this happen, I know we can! Alright? I'll take the lead."

No one responded.

Sasha noticed Armin sitting by himself, and jogged over to him. "Armin, it's time to go!" She said to him, but he ignored her. His eyes were wide as he stared down in front of him. She sighed.

"Reiner, do we move out?" Annie asked. She, Reiner, Bertholdt and Marco were standing next to each other on the roof.

"Not yet." He answered. "We have to let them gather up first."

"It's no use." Marco said. "There's too many of them. I don't think any of us are going to survive this." He looked up to the sky. "I've come to accept my pending demise. I just... wanted my death to mean something."

The sound of someone landing was heard from behind them. "Mikasa! Link!Weren't you guys with the Rear Guard?" Someone said.

"Annie!" Mikasa called as she ran to her, Link following closely behind her. Annie turned around at her name. "I know how bad things have gotten. It's selfish, putting personal matters in the forefront, but have you seen Eren's squad?" She asked hopefully.

"Some squads made it back, but I don't know about Eren's." Annie replied.

"We found Armin, he's over there." Reiner pointed with his thumb.

Mikasa looked over at him. "Armin!" Link had sat down near him, a concerned look in his eyes.

He jolted a bit when he heard her voice. _Mikasa... I can't... How do I tell her what happened to Eren? I survived, it means nothing... I'm so useless!_

Mikasa ran over to them, and Link glanced at her.

 _Judging from the look on his face and lack of response, something tells me that either Eren is stranded... or didn't make it. I honestly don't even know which is better at this point..._ Link thought. _Regardless, Mikasa won't like this one bit. She and Eren seem to be joined at the hip._

Armin was still lost in his thoughts. He remembered Eren reaching out to him. _I wish... I had died with him instead._

Link wanted to make sure she was ready to consider the possibility that something happened to Eren. "Mikasa, I think-"

"Armin, are you okay?" She ignored Link for now, as something was obviously bothering her best friend. "You're not hurt, are you?" She asked, her voice rather gentle.

No response. Armin couldn't face her after what happened.

Mikasa looked to Link. "Where's Eren? Have you seen him around?"

Armin's tears started again.

Link was pretty sure he knew what happened. He decided to rip off the leech. "Mikasa... I don't think Eren... made it. He's most likely gone if he's not up here with us." She immediately glared at him. It was not a pleasant look to be on the receiving end of.

"Don't you dare. Don't you dare say that. He's alive. I know it. It's not like him to just die. That's not who he is." Her voice lacked the gentleness from before, but it didn't sound angry. She almost sounded like she was about to break.

Deep down, she knew the truth, but couldn't accept it. Not without seeing it with her own eyes.

"Armin, where is he?" Mikasa's voice was louder, getting a little more desperate.

He looked up to her, his eyes waterfalls, and they locked eyes. Mikasa's mind froze completely.

"They were..." Armin started, fighting his own sadness with everything he had. "The cadets of Squad 34: Thomas Wager, Nac Tias, Mylius Zeramuski, Mina Carolina, and _Eren Yeager_ ," he choked out. Link winced. "These brave five... upheld their duties... they died valiantly on the field of battle..."

Armin caved and let his sobs come out.

"Please, no..." Sasha whispered. Jean and Connie stared in disbelief.

"His whole squad was wiped out?" A cadet asked.

"The same will happen to us if we try to take on those Titans..." Another stated.

"I'm so sorry, Mikasa... It should've been me that died, not Eren... I couldn't do a thing! I'm worthless..." Armin said. His voice was barely recognizable.

Mikasa knelt down in front of him and put her hand on his. He looked up at her. Her face was calm and neutral.

"Armin... Calm yourself." She started, voice soft once again. "We haven't got time for you to get emotional right now. On your feet." She stood and pulled him up with her.

As she walked away, Link stood next to Armin. "She's right. We're still stuck out here. We need to focus on getting everyone who's alive back over the wall." He stated.

Link thought back to a minute ago, when Armin had broken the news. Mikasa was initially shocked, that much was obvious through her wide eyes. However, she steeled herself immediately, too quickly. _She's completely blocking out her emotions. She might act recklessly in the near future._

Link looked to Armin. "And you probably didn't notice, but she didn't react the way she probably should have. I think she's suppressing her emotions. Don't worry, I'll try to keep an eye on her." He assured.

He looked at Armin's tears, which were still flowing like a river, then at Mikasa. "I know you've got a lot on your plate right now as well, but do try to look out for her too. She may be the strongest of you all, but even the best can lose to their emotions, whether it be anger, or sadness. If you ask me, she's probably going through a combination of both." Link informed. "Even if it doesn't show."

Armin sniffed. "Thanks, Link. You're pretty level-headed for someone so young." Armin praised.

"I try." Was all he had to say. Link caught up to Mikasa to discuss their next course of action. _This will be difficult, but I think we can do it._ He rested his hand on an object on his backside. _And if push comes to shove, there's always this._

"So what next?" Link asked Mikasa. He'd try to make a plan, something he was particularly good at, but he didn't know this area well enough. He only learned of the supply depot five minutes ago.

"We get out of here." She said simply.

_I can hear it in her voice, too. She sounds determined, but on the inside she's cracking like glass. Although, in her case, it's more like tempered glass. Just one more solid blow from reality and she's gone._

They walked up to Marco. "Marco," Mikasa said. "If we eliminate or bypass the Titans at HQ, we can there refill our gear, allowing us to get back over the wall. Is that assessment correct?"

"Well, uh, yeah, I guess so. Sure. But there's just too many of them out there, even with you on point!" He answered.

"I can do it." Mikasa said, drawing her swords.

"What?"

"I'm strong. Real strong." She raised her right sword into the air. "None of you come close, you hear me? I am a warrior!"

Link took in her words. While everyone just stared at her. _I mean, from what I've gathered, she's right. She is strong, but she doesn't even know what she really is. I'll have to tell her after this ordeal is over. It might take some convincing, but it should make sense. For now, I hope she can choose the right words here to inspire her comrades._

"Know this," Mikasa continued. "I have the power to slay all of the Titans that block our path. Even if I have to do it alone. As far as I'm concerned, I am surrounded by a bunch of unskilled, cowardly worms." She pointed a sword at the group. "You disappoint me. You can just sit here, and twiddle your thumbs, and watch how it's done."

"Wait, Mikasa! Are you out of your mind?! That's crazy!" Hanna yelled.

"You can't be serious, trying to take them out by yourself!" Daz said.

"There's no way you can hope to beat them!" Another cadet said.

"If I can't beat them, then I die." Mikasa said plainly. She turned around, her back to the group. "But, if I win, I live. And the only way to win, is to fight!" She leaped off the roof.

"Hey!" Someone called after her.

 _Her little speech was good enough for me, but I wasn't giving up on these people anyway. What matters, is if the rest of them took it the right way._ Link thought.

"You know, I was expecting something a little more motivational. Your way with words was kind of a letdown." Jean said to himself. He brandished his swords. "I blame everything about this on you, Eren."

"Hey!" Jean shouted to the group. "Don't just stand there! We weren't taught to let our comrades fight alone! Unless you _are_ a coward, in which case, stay out of my way!" He finished, before charging in the direction Mikasa went. Connie followed.

 _That's one way to put it._ Link thought again. _At least he can make sense of things even while being an asshole._

"I never expected that from him," Reiner said. Him and Annie started walking.

Armin's tears had finally dried, and he sniffed as he wiped his eyes one final time.

Marco sighed, and started in the direction everyone else was going. More and more people followed.

"Hey! Seriously!" Sasha shouted at a group of cadets. "Come on, you buncha chickens!"

"They're nuts." One said.

"Damn it." Another replied.

"Alright, let's go!"

With a collective war cry, all of the remaining cadets mobilized. They were going to survive this. If they didn't, then at least they'd die while fighting.

 _I'm glad that worked._ Link thought, before joining them in their cries, and launching forward with his hookshot.

* * *

Mikasa made a clean strike as she passed a Titan, and it crumpled to the ground. She didn't even stop to confirm the kill, listening for the _thud_ of the body hitting the stone road.

"Hurry up! Follow Mikasa!" Jean shouted, projecting his voice so the people behind him could hear. "Avoid fighting if you can! And get to HQ before you run out of gas!"

Connie flew a bit behind Mikasa, admiring her skills. "Whoa, Mikasa's a bad ass!" He said in awe. "How is she going so fast?"

Armin also studied her closely. _No... Mikasa's using too much gas._ He could see the excess gas being expelled from her gear. The expended gas was visible, even from this distance behind her. _She could run out at any second! It doesn't matter how skilled she is, once we lose mobility, we're as good as dead!_ She continued to move at inhumane speeds, cutting down any Titan that crossed her path.

 _I can see through the veil of her composure,_ Armin pondered. _She's letting adrenaline distract her from grief. At any time, she could-_

His thoughts were interrupted as the gas emitting from Mikasa's gear suddenly stopped. Armin gasped as Mikasa fell out of the air and unceremoniously crashed into another rooftop. Her swords went flying off in opposite directions as she clutched the back of her head in pain, and she rolled off onto the ground.

"Mikasa!" Armin called after her. He switched directions and went straight for her.

Link wasn't far behind, and he saw Mikasa on the ground with no weapons. _Uh oh. This isn't good at all. We may have me to fight, and I know I can handle myself, but I'm still only one person. We need her if everyone's gonna make it through this._

"Damn." Jean cursed from behind, and he was about to change his course too, when Connie decided to take the initiative.

"Jean! You lead the rest to HQ! I'm going after Armin!"

"I'll go with you!"

"Don't be stupid! There are still Titans everywhere! You've gotta help the others!" Before Jean could protest further, Connie was already on his way.

Link caught up to him surprisingly quickly, considering he left the roof last. "Let's go, Jean! We've got a mission to carry out!"

He grunted. "Fine!" He was still annoyed from losing to Link in their duel earlier, but he knew the kid was right.

* * *

In the alleyway where Mikasa fell, she lay with her arms spread, and she was staring up at the sky.

_It happened. Why this again... I've lost my family..._

She hopped off the stall and fell onto her knees.

 _Why? Wasn't the first time enough? It's all over. Nothing left for them to take from me._ Large footsteps thundered near her, but they didn't deter her from her thoughts. They were finally catching up to her. A Titan approached from her right.

She still didn't move.

* * *

Jean and Link looked over at HQ from a safe distance. Titans were still swarming the entire building from the ground to the roof.

"It's no use," Jean said. "we're not getting anywhere _near_ headquarters. Unless of course, you don't mind dying.

"We can still do this," Link reassured him. "we just need a good plan." Link honestly wasn't too sure himself, but he liked to stay optimistic.

They looked down when they heard whimpering, and saw a cadet on the ground. His cables were in a wall, but they weren't retracting, despite him pressing the triggers.

 _Shit, he's out of gas._ Jean and Link were about to jump down to help, but more loud footsteps stopped them.

Several more Titans closed in on the unfortunate cadet, and he cried out. "Stay back!" He put his swords up in a fruitless effort to defend himself.

The sound of cables firing from behind got their attention. "Tom! I'll save you!" Another cadet shouted.

"No, wait!" Jean said. There were too many in such a small space.

"I'm coming!" A girl shouted as she flew past them.

Tom was in a Titan's grasp, barely a few feet from it's jaw. Tears streamed from his eyes as he desperately cried out.

"Stop it!" The first cadet screamed at the Titan, but he was grabbed midair by another. Jean tensed.

Tom's screams of terror were cut short as large teeth silenced him forever.

 _Why couldn't I stop them?_ Jean thought as he watched in horror. _Why didn't I stop them? If I'd kept us all together, this never would've happened._ Link was next to him, eyes wide in horror as well.

Hanna screamed as a Titan pulled her up by her arms. _I wasn't meant to lead. I'm the last person that should've been given the reigns._ The rest of them watched as they screamed, but couldn't do anything. They were either paralyzed by their own fear, or realized that there were just too many. Then the screams stopped.

Jean, Link, and the others had just watched three soldiers die right after each other. _No... no! This is our chance. We can get the drop on them while they're preoccupied. It's perfect!_

"I have an idea, Jean." Link spoke up. "It's a little crazy, though."

He looked over at the boy, who had a serious look on his face. "What is it?" He asked skeptically.

"Those Titans over there are distracted for the time being, but there are still plenty more where they came from. We need to distract them somehow."

"And how the hell are we supposed to do that, exactly?"

Link looked him right in the eye. "Me."

Jean looked at him like he was insane. "What the fuck is wrong with you?! Do you have a death wish?! If you try to divert their attention, which might not even work, you won't stand a chance!"

"I stand a better chance than anyone else here. I'm smaller, faster, and don't need to rely on gas to move around. If anything, my arm is a little sore right now."

Link was still staring at him directly. "Also, I have a backup plan if things go south."

"And what's what?"

"Hopefully, you don't find out. There's no time to explain! I'll go ahead first, and draw them off. When it's clear, go for it!"

Jean groaned in frustration, but he knew it was the best shot they had. The kid was right. He stood the best chance, and all he had to do was lure them away. He didn't have to fight them.

Link leaped off the roof, and fired his hookshot over toward HQ. The Titans that were lying in wait started following him, then Link veered off to the side to clear the patch. The time to go was _now._

"Let's go!" He shouted to the leftover cadets. "Make a break for HQ while they're distracted!" He jumped onto a lower roof and started sprinting. Marco and Sasha pursued him. Soon, the rest did as well.

 _We can do this._ Jean thought. _Hey, we run out of gas, we're dead anyway._

"Give it everything you've got!"

* * *

Mikasa was out of blades, having used them all up already. She ejected her last pair of broken blades.

 _This world is cruel... but it's also..._ She thought of when she first met Eren, when he wrapped the scarf around her. _But it's also beautiful..._ The footsteps grew nearer.

She looked up at the sky again. _It was a good life..._ She closed her eyes in resignation.

The Titan was almost upon her. It's hand extended out to grab her.

Mikasa's instincts were screaming at her to move, but her body just didn't comply. She accepted her fate.

At the last possible moment, she leaped away from the Titan's grasp, slicing it's fingers off. She was grasping the broken blade by the bottom.

The Titan used it's other hand to grab for her, but she dodged with a flip and it slammed into the ground in front of her. It swung again, and she dodged again, but the shock wave forced her into the wall, back first.

 _Why?_ Yet another swing from the Titan and she went careening through the air. _I'd already given up..._ She hit the ground in a tumble, and rolled several yards.

Mikasa coughed as she stood back up. _So, why? Why am I struggling? Why... do I keep getting up?_ The Titan tripped on the debris from the building it destroyed. _Why am I still fighting? I mean... I've lost any reason to live. What keeps pushing me?_ She backed away from the Titan, and turned to run in the opposite direction.

She stopped when another Titan, this one with long black hair and stood fifteen meters tall, stomped around the corner.

Eren's words from that night echoed in her mind. _"Fight... fight... fight!"_

"Eren..." Mikasa whispered to herself. _"Kill or be killed..." Eren said to her. "The only way to live... is to fight!"_

 _I'm so sorry, Eren._ She thought, as tears welled in her eyes. _I'm through giving up! I'll never give up again._ She remembered a young Eren waking up under a tree, with tears in his eyes that he didn't even notice. _Because if I die, these memories of you die with me. That's why... I'll do whatever it takes to win!_

She gripped the blade with both hands, and let out a loud cry.

She may have braced herself for the Titan's attack, but what she _wasn't_ ready for, was the long haired Titan to run right past her and _punch the other Titan in the face._ The impact from the Titan's footstep, which gave it leverage for the punch, popped Mikasa off the ground several feet into the air. The other Titan's blood splattered the walls as it was sent careening back onto the ground.

Mikasa hit the ground with a grunt, and then she looked up in confusion. "What was that?" She gasped.

The black haired Titan stood where the previous one stood, and it exhaled slowly, as if content with it's strike. Then it let out a guttural cry so loud she had to cover her ears. It began running toward the other Titan.

Mikasa watched in absolute shock as the black haired Titan started tearing apart the other one with it's bare hands. Flesh was torn, and blood sprayed everywhere.

 _That Titan... he's... killing... he's killing the other Titan!_ Now, it was stomping the Titan's head into the ground. When it was satisfied, it looked up and straight ahead. Almost liked it was on the lookout...

Armin searched low for Mikasa, avoiding any eyes that might see him and start pursuing. "Please be alright... I'm coming for you!" He continued his search, until he heard the strangest cry. It definitely wasn't human.

He looked over to his right, and saw Mikasa on her knees. She was watching something with great interest. "There she is!" Armin detached his cables and changed course to rescue her. He swooped in and grabbed her, then did a hard landing on a nearby roof.

"Mikasa! Are you okay!" Armin asked her, a little distressed. Connie landed behind them.

"Are you guys alright?"

"Yeah," Armin answered.

"Then we better get outta here." They looked up and saw a fifteen meter approaching on the road. Then the black haired one from before walked up to it.

"Crap!" Connie said. "Two fifteen meter Titans!"

"No." Mikasa said, still reeling a little from before. "That one's different."

Armin looked over and saw an utterly decimated Titan corpse, steaming as it dissolved. "How?"

The black haired Titan roared at it's opponent, and the other roared back. Then he did something even stranger.

He put up his hands as if he was ready for hand-to-hand combat. Armin and Mikasa gasped, while Connie just stared.

The opposing Titan charged, and the black haired Titan punched it in the temple. It had so much force behind it, that it tore off the Titan's head from it's neck, and sent it flying about a quarter of a mile away into a taller building.

As the Titan's body fell, the black haired Titan looked at his hand. The skin around his fingers was completely gone. He watched as it regenerated instantaneously in a flash of rainbow light.

After his hand came back, he slowly raised his foot, and stomped down on the Titan's nape, finishing it off.

"It..." Armin started, even more shocked at what he was seeing. "It just finished it off... It knew exactly where the weak spot was!"

"Come on, guys, time to split. Last thing we need is him coming our way." Connie said.

"No... he has no reaction to us..." Armin said. "Any other Titan would've been on top of us by now." The Titan's footsteps got quieter as it went off to find it's next target.

"It seemed to understand the skill of hand-to-hand combat," Mikasa said. "What is that thing?"

"Just chalk it up as another Abnormal." Connie said. "Hell, they're always an unpleasant surprise, right? Forget about it, let's just get outta here."

"Wait a minute, hold on!" Armin said. "Mikasa's tanks are empty!"

"Huh?!" Connie exclaimed. "What're we gonna do?! We can't clear HQ without your help!" Mikasa just looked down.

Armin got down and started messing with his ODM Gear. "There's only one thing to do." He said as he removed his own gas canisters. "I know there isn't very much left in them, but it's better then your empty ones."

"Armin!" Mikasa protested.

"This is our only choice! It would be a complete waste if I keep them. But..." He paused. "Use this gas more sparingly. Everyone's lives are riding on you."

Mikasa watched him with wide eyes. _What have I done?_

_I led the attack without any regard for their lives at all. I was even reckless with my own life. I lost track of what you taught me. Oh, Eren... I'm so ashamed. Eren..._

"There..." Armin said as he finished his task. "Got it." Gas came out of the exhaust on the gear. "The ODM Gear's functional, and I restocked your blades." He picked up his last blade. "Just... just leave me this one, okay? It's just that... I would rather this be my end and not being eaten alive." He didn't hear Mikasa's footsteps approaching.

She took the blade from his hand, and tossed it off the rooftop. It landed on the ground with a clang.

"Why'd you..."

She put her hand on his. "Armin..." He looked at her. "I will not leave you behind." She said, then pulled him up onto his feet. They all looked into the direction of HQ.

_What was he? Are there any more like him? I've never heard of a Titan killing another Titan... no one has. But it struck a chord in me. Something so... familiar. So... primal._

_I bore witness to the manifestation of humanity's rage._

"But..." Armin started. "I mean... Titans are everywhere! You can't jump _and_ carry me on your back at-"

"Come on, let's move." Connie interrupted, dragging Armin along with him.

 _Please..._ Armin thought. _Don't do this... It's not going to work! Enough people have died on my account._

The black haired Titan roared again in the distance, and he looked back at it. Time seemed to slow for him as his mind worked faster than the speed of light.

"No!" Armin shouted, and he ripped his arm away from Connie. "Hold on. I've got an idea."

"What is it, then?" Connie asked.

"Only you two are capable of pulling this off, so it's really your choice. This may sound crazy, but I think he might be useful."

The two in question were shocked. "Whoa, you mean the Titan?" Connie asked.

"He only attacks his own kind," Armin began to elaborate his plan. "He seems to have no interest in us. But what if we can somehow steer him to HQ and let him loose on the other Titans? Look, we know he's taken at least one out already. We can use him as a weapon."

Connie looked at him like he was insane. "You've got to be kidding..." He said. "How the hell do you think we're supposed to steer that thing?"

"Something tells me he's fighting on instinct. I'm almost sure if you take down the pair he's tangling with now, he'll go look for others. That'd lead him straight to HQ. We're not steering him so much as luring him. I think it'll work, I really do."

"Think?!" Connie asked incredulously. "You're asking us to risk our necks on a stupid gut feeling?!" He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"If I'm right about this, we can put down the siege on headquarters in one fell swoop!" Connie continued to look at him like he was crazy.

"It's worth a shot." Mikasa said.

"Huh?! Seriously?!" He said, turning to face her.

"Better to take a gamble on Armin's gut feeling than than wait around to be slaughtered. If there's a decent shot, why not take it?" Armin looked more hopeful now. He was glad she still trusted him.

"So basically, we're gonna recruit a Titan." Connie said, still in disbelief.

"Yes. Exactly."

Connie was about to respond, but realized he really couldn't. She was right. Better to try than to just sit like ducks and wait to die.

Eventually he smirked at Armin. "We'll look like morons if we screw this up."

Armin was glad they were both on board now. All they had to do now was execute the plan.

"Yeah, but, if we don't, look how many lives we stand to save." He said.

"Where there's a will, there's a way." Mikasa said, before running off. Armin followed.

"It's still nuts, but what the hell!" Connie ran after them.

Mikasa led the way, while Connie carried Armin behind her. She slayed a Titan in their path with a spin. As it fell, Connie zipped past it.

In the distance, the black haired Titan was locked in combat with another. Their hands were locked, in a battle of strength. He easily overpowered the other Titan and shoved it back into a wall. The three cadets flew past him as he finished his target.

Realizing that was the last one, the Titan looked around until his eyes rested on a larger building in the distance. It was crawling with Titans.

* * *

Jean and the other cadets flew toward HQ. The Titans previously in the way were mostly gone, a few still off to the side. They weren't close enough to even dream of getting them.

They were almost there. Marco ran alongside Jean.

"Jean! You really came through for us there, man. We owe you and Link big time! Don't shrug it off, I'm serious! We're alive because of you two. Like I said, you make a great leader! Maybe Link, too!"

"Easy with that crap. We're not outta this yet!"

As if on cue, a Titan grabbed someone midair, and no one could do anything about it. It must have ignored Link, or didn't see him.

"Damn it!" Jean yelled, but he kept pressing on. They were so close. Jean used the last of his gas for one final push toward HQ, at max speed.

As he approached the building, he raised his legs and crashed through a window. He tumbled roughly across the floor as glass rained around him.

He was glad that he made it, but was was worried about everyone else. He looked up from the ground and a few seconds later, Marco, Annie, Bertholdt, and the other cadets broke the other windows. Everyone was panting.

"How many of us made it?" Jean said, exhausted. Everyone's adrenaline was wearing off. He put a hand on his face. _How many bodies did I crawl over... How many f our comrades died, on my orders?_

Jean caught sight of soldiers cowering under the table next to him. Some were staring at them with wide eyes, while some of them were crying.

"Hold on a sec..." Jean said. "You guys were the supply team?"

"Yeah..." One said. Before he could say anything else, however, Jean reached for him and grabbed his collar.

He pulled the cadet up and punched him across the face. Hard. He fell, and didn't get up.

Marco grabbed him by putting his arms under his shoulders. "Jean, stop!" He yelled.

"You cowards!" Jean's voice was murderous. "You left us out there on our own! People are dead because you didn't have the guts to do your job!"

A girl in tears ran to the boy Jean punched. "The Titans were coming at us from every angle! They overran the supply room, okay?"

"It's your job to deal with it and back us up anyway!"

They all stopped when they heard a roar come from outside.

"Hit the deck!" Reiner shouted.

At the end of the room, a Titan destroyed the wall and a soldier went flying. It peered at them through the hole with a creepy grin.

"Son of a..." Jean said. _I guess Link couldn't get them all. That'd have been too easy._

"There's too many people. They can smell us." Jean stated.

The cadets panicked and ran for the door.

"Run!"

"Get further in!"

"Mikasa! Have you seen her?"

"She ran out of gas, forget about her! She's dead!"

 _This is it._ Jean thought. _This... is reality. Of course it is. How deluded was I? No...No, on some level, I knew it all along. I mean, when you stop and think for a second, it's obvious._ Two Titans stared at him through the hole. _There's no winning. Not against them._

After a few seconds, something collided with one of the Titans' face. A fist.

"What?!" Jean shouted as the fist connected, sending both Titans flying away from the building. The fist responsible belonged to a muscular fifteen meter Titan with long black hair. It looked angry, and it let out a roar.

"What the..." Jean said in disbelief. "My god..."

A silhouette on the window grew until the window shattered, revealing Mikasa, and Connie carrying Armin right behind her. Jean gasped at the sight.

"Mikasa! You're-"

"Wow," Connie started, relieved. "close one." He tapped on his gas canister. "I was running on fumes. We made it here, though. Crazy, but we did."

Jean approached Mikasa. "You... I... Am I dreaming this, or what?" He asked, wide-eyed.

Connie slapped Armin on the back. "You're a certified genius! From now on, as far as I'm concerned, your word is law!" He turned to address Jean.

"Where's Link?" Mikasa asked Jean. He snapped out of his shock and his usual expression masked his face.

"The suicidal bastard used himself as bait so we could get her a lot easier. His plan mostly worked, but now he's out there with probably a dozen Titans on his trail. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't make it. Crazy bastard is almost like Eren."

"Check it out!" Connie said. "We found an Abnormal that's got a bone to pick with it's own kind!" He pointed outside. "And the best part? He couldn't care less about us! That's right, you heard me! This big, beautiful SOB is our ticket outta here!"

"You mean like fighting fire with fire?" A cadet said.

"Listen to yourself, a Titan's not gonna help us!" Jean said. He'd seen and heard enough bullshit for one day. "You're out of your mind if you think this could work."

"It _is_ working," Mikasa said. "For whatever reason, he's rampaging against them. Stand back and let him do it. Trust me, you'll see."

The Titan threw another punch into another Titan's face, and it went flying back. He roared again.

"Either way," Mikasa continued. "what choice do we have? Right now, that thing is our best chance at survival."

The Titan continued to rampage, grappling another fifteen meter and slamming it to the ground, into two other very small ones.

"Look at him go," Connie said to Reiner and Annie. "This guy makes the others look like total weaklings!" The Titan ran and punted the small Titans near his feet.

* * *

Link's plan worked. In fact, it worked almost perfectly. Almost, though. One of the few Titans that didn't follow him wound up eating an unfortunate soldier.

Link cursed himself for not getting them all to follow him.

But now that the plan was executed, he had other things to worry about, like getting out of his now sticky situation. He had a dozen Titans on him, and all he could do was run. Luckily, he took a sip of a green stamina potion before he started luring them, so he had energy.

The hard part was losing them. They were pretty damn persistent.

_I can't shake them. Damn. If I keep going, I'll surely end up in a Titan's grasp eventually. If I head back, I'll just undo everything I just did, and get everyone killed._

Link snapped out of his thoughts just in time to see a Titan reaching for him from the side, and he managed to dodge by switching his momentum with the hookshot. _That was too close._ He looked behind him to see what was happening. The Titans were decently close, close enough to keep them interested. Although some had given up.

He faced forward again, and almost crashed straight into a building. He narrowly missed it, and landed on a roof, his momentum too much to stop properly. As he started running again, he was greeted with a searing pain in his right ankle.

Link sprained his ankle on that landing. _Shit. This is not how I'm gonna die._

He fired his hookshot, the chain latching onto a building, and he kept himself airborne. His ankle hurt. He could probably walk, or rather limp, but running was out of the question. He could only get out that one jump, and he was surprised his ankle didn't just give out right then and there. Once he landed, that was it.

He had no choice but to use it.

* * *

"They're not gonna take this building." Connie said to Reiner. Annie was next to him, eyes closed. The other cadets raised a lift that went down to the supply depot. "Not with him on a rampage out there."

"That's all well and good," Reiner responded. "But what's to keep him from turning on us once he's done?"

Connie didn't know how to respond to that. "Guess we'll worry about that when we're safe."

"Yeah, you're right. At least he's buying us a little time."

"Good news!" Jean shouted so everyone could here him. He was carrying a long crate, as were a few other cadets. "Courtesy of the Military Police! And covered with a layer of dust..."

He opened up his crate, and pulled put a rifle.

As they prepared the rifles, Jean voiced his doubts. "Are you absolutely sure buckshot is the way to go? Seems like we might as well throw spit wads. I mean, come on, guys. Are guns even effective?"

Armin, who was across from him, let out a sigh through his nose. "I don't know, but they're bound to be better than nothing. We're looking at seven Titans in the supply room of the four meters tall variety. If we time this _perfectly_ , this much ammo oughta be enough to do the trick."

He started going over his plan. "Step one: we lower a group into the area via a lift, to get the Titans' attention. Step two: when the Titans come within range, the group fires in all four directions, simultaneously blinding them. Then the hard part, the moment of truth as it were: Before the Titans have time to recover, seven of us swoop down from the ceiling and strike their vital regions."

"That's it. That's the plan." Armin stated. "It puts all our lives on the line. We screw up, we're dead. That's a hell of a risk for one attack. But it's our only chance. Seven people have to have to slay seven Titans in one blow, at the same time."

"We're gonna need the best of you. The seven soldiers most physically gifted and adept with their pairing blades. You'll be the difference between life and death for the rest of us. I'm sorry... that's how it is." Armin finished.

"Seems like a sound plan." Reiner agreed.

"When you get right down to it, the risk is the same for everyone." Annie said. "Doesn't really matter who goes."

"Look... I'm willing to be talked out of this. One half-baked strategy can't be our only option, right?"

"Hey..." Marco said. "Don't be so hard on yourself. Come on, with what we're looking at, cause for our only option, it's pretty well-thought out." He praised. "If we give it our all, we might just pull this off!"

"It'll be fine," Mikasa reassured him. "You just have to be confident. You're a better strategist than you give yourself credit for." He didn't seem so sure. "I'm serious. That mind's saved Eren and me more than once."

"When did I ever save you? That's not..."

The side of the lift fell open. "Alright, the lift's ready to go. Guns are loaded to the stocks. Let's go kill some Titans." A cadet said.

"You didn't realize it at the time, we can talk about it later." Mikasa walked off, ready.

* * *

The seven soldiers who were getting into position, were walking down the stairs.

"Okay, I'm gonna ask the obvious question," said Connie. "Can we do this without ODM Gear?"

"No problem," said Reiner. These guys are only four meters tall. Their weak spots are not too far above eye level."

"He's right, size won't be an issue," Jean agreed. "the spot's still only one meter high, and ten centimeters across."

"Back of the head, to the nape of the neck!" Sasha confirmed.

"Worse comes to worst, you can always just shove one of these up their ass," Reiner joked. "That's the other weak spot."

"Are you serious?" Connie asked. "That's news to me..."

"Did I miss a day of training, or something?" Sasha asked.

"Come on," Jean said. "Knock it off, Reiner. You want your final words to be an ass joke?"

* * *

The group on the lift was being lowered into the supply depot. They all had their guns ready.

"Good," Marco whispered as he surveyed the room. "We're still at seven." The lift stopped about five or six meters up, out of immediate reach of the Titans.

Everyone simultaneously aimed their rifles in front of them, all four cardinal directions covered. "Okay now, nice and easy..." Marco instructed. The atmosphere was tense.

A Titan was stalking around slowly, until it stopped in front of them and turned to face them. A soldier started to panic.

"Don't lose your cool!" Marco said. Everyone was visibly anxious, but they maintained their cool nonetheless. "Fire only when they're all within range!"

The Titan began it's approach slowly.

"Steady..." Marco said.

Up above, the seven soldiers were all in place on top of the beams near the ceiling, swords at the ready.

 _That's right..._ Reiner thought. _Wait for it..._

 _Our lives are riding on this._ Jean thought.

 _Gotta make this attack count._ Connie thought.

"Steady..." Marco said again, as the Titans began closing in on them.

They were face to face now. "Almost..." They took one more step.

"Fire!" Marco shouted, and they all opened fire, shooting the Titans in their eyes.

As they started steaming, the seven immediately leaped into action to strike their corresponding targets.

Mikasa was the first, making a perfect, clean cut down the nape, and landing on her feet in a crouch. "Got it. How are you guys?"

Reiner and Jean landed next to her, their respective Titans falling to the ground in defeat. Sasha and Connie made their strikes, both missing the napes. The latter landed poorly and fell over.

Sasha's Titan turned around and looked at her with it's naturally angry face, and she paled right away. "I... I'm sorry..." she whispered. She and Connie backed away. Since they hadn't refilled their gas yet, they couldn't escape. "I didn't..."

"Oh, crap..." Connie said as he realized they failed.

"I didn't mean to sneak up on you..."

"Sasha and Connie missed!" Bertholdt shouted.

"Lead 'em the hell back!" Jean responded.

Tears were leaking from Sasha's eyes as she faced her imminent death. She was too paralyzed with fear to move. "I... oh, God..."

The Titan lunged, but she screamed and dodged. "I said I was sorry!"

Luckily for them, Mikasa and Annie were on it. They jumped up and managed to slice their napes without a problem, and the Titans crumpled to the ground in steaming heaps.

"Mikasa!" Sasha cried. The girl in question hopped of the body of a Titan and stood in front of her. Sasha grabbed her jacket. "You saved my life!"

"Are you okay?" She asked her.

"Because of you, I am!"

"Then get up." She ordered.

"I owe you one," Connie said to Annie. She shrugged it off.

"No worries."

"Wow... by the skin of your teeth." Reiner said. "You're damn lucky you didn't end up worse off." She just walked away from him.

"They're all dead!" Jean shouted to the cadets still on the lift. "Start loading up supplies!" They all let out sighs of relief.

"It worked!" Armin said, almost surprised. Marco almost fainted.

"We're gonna make it!" A soldier said as they all refilled their gas. "We're gonna live!"

"No more of 'em coming in! Thank you, crazy berserker Titan!"

Sasha was still upset. "I caved..." She said to herself. "in front of the whole gang... I'm never gonna be able to face any of them again!"

"Damn it, feel sorry for yourself later!" Connie yelled at her. They had more important things to worry about. "Focus on escape!"

Jean and Marco were next to each other filling up their tanks. "Listen, man," the former started. "What you said about me being a leader and all, don't talk to me like that again, alright?"

"Promise me you're not gonna take this the wrong way," Marco said. "but I don't think you're a good leader 'cause you're strong. I think you're a good leader 'cause you know what it is to be weak. You're one of us. You're scared out of your mind, just like we all are. It makes you alert, sympathetic."

Jean looked at him, surprised.

"You made a damn good call out there," Marco continued. "Caught me runnin' for my life. You're why I can say this."

* * *

At this point, everyone was ready to leave. They had no business here any longer.

"Ready, people? Let's do this!" Everyone made their way outside, as preparations to fully retreat were complete.

When Armin had left the building, he saw Mikasa standing on the roof, seeming fixated on something. "Mikasa?" He launched himself up to her. "What are you doing? We have to leave, _now!_ "

"Look down there," she said. He did so.

Pinned up against a building by two other Titans, was the Titan that was helping them. They had already proven hostile against him, but they were _eating_ him.

"Cannibalism?" Armin wondered aloud. "Can he not regenerate like the others?"

"This may sound stupid, but I was hoping he'd be the key for us. That he'd help mankind break the cycle. Turn the tide just long enough to give a little ray of hope."

"She's right," Reiner said. "he's too valuable to just let die, there's too much we can learn from him. I think it's perfectly clear our priority should be to ward off the scavenges off him. He's no good to us picked apart."

"Are you out of your mind?!" Jean questioned. "We've got a path outta this nightmare, and you wanna stay?!"

"Think about it," Annie spoke up. "having an Abnormal as an ally would be an incredible advantage, right? A cannon's got nothing on a Titan who likes to rip apart his own kind.

Jean was taken aback. "You... You hear yourself? He's not like a new friend!"

Armin glanced toward the sound of footsteps and gasped at a familiar sight. "Oh, no! It's the one that ate Thomas!" He said.

It seemed like the "good" Titan noticed this also, as he freed himself forcefully and charged at the Titan, roaring loudly. As he approached, the Titans latched onto his arms fell off, taking his arms with them. When he made it to his target, he bit the nape, and lifted the Titan into the air using his jaw. Then, he threw it into the other Titan, sending both into a nearby building.

"Holy..." Jean whispered, wide-eyed. The Titan roared again. "What was that you were saying?" The Titan fell on his knees, then face first onto the ground. "'Cause I think it's a moot point now."

Before anyone could do or say anything, they heard more footsteps, somewhere nearby. They sounded like they were running, but they weren't getting closer.

"Look!" Armin shouted, pointing. "Over there!"

Everyone's attention drifted away from the now steaming Titan, and they saw _Link_ of all people. In the distance, he was being chased by at least a dozen Titans. Jean's eyes widened further, if that was even possible.

"Holy shit! He's been leading them around the whole time! I honestly didn't think we'd see him again, but... fuck!" _What do we do? There's so many! We just got gas back, but I don't know if we can handle them all ourselves. Some of us have already retreated._

* * *

Link was using his hookshot to zip around like them, very effectively, too. He was trying to keep them from heading to HQ by doing laps in a large circle.

Link's arm was getting really sore. He couldn't keep this up for much longer, as his arm would likely give out in a few seconds. HQ was also too far away to call for help.

Sure enough, the next time he fired his hookshot, it just flew out of his hands and clattered to the ground several meters away. He landed on the ground, but got back up quickly. He looked around, and sure enough, he was surrounded by the Titans with no escape.

 _Shit_. Link thought. _I have no choice now._ He reached behind him, and grabbed something off of his belt. He breathed in and out slowly, and slipped on the mask.

* * *

Everyone watched in horror as Link fell out of view behind a building, but they could still see the many Titans that were closing in on him from here.

"Shit! He's done for if we don't get over there!" Connie yelled. "Hurry!" Everyone immediately launched at full speed. There was no way they'd let that kid die here after only one day.

As they drew closer, they passed the tall building he fell behind, and were able to see Link standing in a slightly awkward stance, as he reached behind him. He put something over his face.

A bolt of white lighting struck him violently, and everyone was knocked out of the air by some invisible blast onto different rooftops in the area. The wind was strongly against them, but it didn't move them. They tried to look at what happened, but the white lightning created a blinding light they had to shield their eyes from.

After a few seconds it cleared, and they were able to use their gear safely again. However, they soon found they didn't need to. Everyone's jaw dropped as they looked at Link.

Or at least what they thought was Link. He suddenly looked... older.

His previously blond hair had become silver, and was parted down the middle more neatly. His face had red and blue tattoos. He was noticeably taller than everyone in their group. His green tunic was now a very bright blue, almost white. He wore some kind of tight garments under the tunic that were navy blue, and it looked as if his now huge muscles would tear them at any second. Over the tunic was body armor that matched the tunic in color, but it had strange markings on it. Covering his hands were silver gauntlets with a red accent. His boots were changed the least.

The weirdest part, however, was the new sword he was holding. He no longer had his trademark Gilded Sword and shield. Instead, in his hands, he held an absolutely _huge_ great sword. Not only was it a large two-handed sword, but the shape was even stranger. The sword took on a double-helix shape, and was white and teal in color.

The Titans around him continued to grab at him, but Link jumped into the air. High. Really high. Above the buildings high. He let out a shout at the apex of his jump, and raised his sword. As he descended, he began to spin, perpendicular to the ground.

Link's sword collided with the ground, and a large purple explosion engulfed the Titans that surrounded him.

When the explosion had cleared, everyone gasped in shock. There were no more Titans surrounding Link. He completely and utterly decimated them.

Link pulled his sword off of the ground, and faced the group. Now that they were closer, they could see he had pure white eyes, with no pupils. Connie looked visibly disturbed at the sight.

Jean had his swords up, not liking this one bit. He decided to break the silence with a question.

"Just what in the fuck _are_ you?"

Link said nothing, staring past them. He took a slow step forward, and everyone backed away in fear.

"Hey! I asked you a question!" Jean shouted.

Link reached up to his face and pulled off the mask. As he did, his entire body crackled with white electricity. It shielded him from view, and when it clear, the kid they had all known for the last day was there. His eyes were closed.

His sword and shield clattered to the ground, and he collapsed on his back.

* * *

_Information Available for Public Disclosure_

The Fierce Deity's Mask is an incredibly powerful mask that grants the wearer the powers of a literal god. They are also equipped with a large double-helix great sword, capable of channeling magic power and dealing devastating blows. Only the wearer may wield the Fierce Deity's Sword, whoever that may be. However, this mask mask cannot be used freely. It still requires magic power, but the catch is that a toll must be paid upon taking off the mask. If one is strong enough mentally and physically, then the toll is minor, being only exhaustion for a few hours at most. If one is not strong enough, then the toll is much greater, being that of the wearer's life force, shaving a few years off their life. With great power, comes great responsibility. If one's heart is easily corrupted by the powers of darkness, then the mask's own will will overpower them, and they will lose control over their actions and intentions. This is the mask Link used to destroy the Majora's Mask once and for all to save the land of Termina.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! That's finally over! Sorry it took so long for this one to get out (about a week)! I was very on and off over the course of several days, making sure everything worked out well. I also have a confession, I'm a tad lazy, so getting in here and working on a chapter takes a bit of convincing myself sometimes. The important thing though, is I'm not forcing myself, because you would see a decrease in quality.
> 
> So, did you Zelda fans like my proper introduction of the FD Mask? I certainly thought it was cool. The jumping attack that Link does is exactly like the one he does as his boss weak-point attack in Hyrule Warriors, though I added the purple explosion, which is from one of his combo attacks. And yes, it completely vaporized the Titans around him. They're gone for good. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you guys next time!


End file.
